Fundraiser Update: Cuba, China & Precious
The charity funded waiting list exists to help those who cannot contribute towards the cost of veterinary care and upkeep of their cat(s) as well as taking on strays and abandoned cats. Cuba (7), China (10) and Precious (12) were added to our charity funded waiting list earlier this year. Due to a high number of strays and complicated (expensive!) procedures for many of our cats it is only now that we have been able to bring them in thanks to your donations. The veterinary care for this lovely trio is likely to be in excess of £750 alone so these much needed donations will be gone before we know it!
This trio were living together in a small flat with another cat (who sadly passed away over the summer). Competing for resources, Precious, and in particular, Cuba were bullied by China for fuss, attention and food. It was far from a harmonious, feline household and the cats were struggling, sharing a litter tray, and their owner’s declining health was making it hard to keep them happy. With their places secured, we also agreed to collect the trio from their home. This is not practical for us to do for all cats coming into our care due to the logistics and time involved but on occasion this is necessary such as for Cuba, China and Precious.
It took the best part of a morning to coax Cuba and China into carriers but Precious was too clever for this and chose to hide in a wardrobe. In the current times we cannot be going inside to people’s homes as freely as we could therefore a carrier was left for Precious to get used to eating it and the duo came in and went off to the Clinic the next day for health checks. It is not uncommon for cats coming to us to have never seen a vet since being neutered, so we expected to be faced with a fairly sizeable bill. Cuba’s teeth were in a bad way so dental extractions were needed. China was in reasonably good health, however she is extremely overweight so to minimise the risk of developing a long term condition she needs to lose weight. Precious took to the carrier quickly and two days later she came into our care, the 90 minute roundtrip being made once again and this being London of course took far longer than the sat nav estimated. Precious’ coat was matted and dull, she was underweight, and has a fractured canine that will need extracting. As a senior cat a full blood profile was of course done as well as urine tests. Precious’ glucose was a little high, a possible sign of stress. She is now only eating high protein wet food and her glucose levels will be monitored periodically to ensure diabetes is kept at bay.
China took to her change in food well (like Precious she is also only eating high protein wet food to help her lose weight slowly and safely). She was really was overpowering the others so was separated from them and today went to her forever home where she is already ruling the sofa. We expect she’ll be the boss of her home and her humans by tomorrow! Cuba is a shy, nervous boy. He is calmer now China is not in his territory and we have no doubt he will blossom in his forever home. Precious is with him too but they keep out of each other’s way, often swapping sleeping spots but never together. For a cat whose preference was to hide away and sleep in wardrobes or under the bed, Precious is a loving cat who seeks you out for fuss and attention. All three have been a joy to their previous owner, to their foster carers and will surely be the same in their forever homes. Thank you to all who have made this possible, we are so glad we could bring Cuba, China and Precious in and with your continued support and sharing hope that we will be able to help others in need in the not too distant future.
If you have not had a chance to make a donation yet please consider donating or share this story with your like-minded friends and family.