5 Amazing CatCuddles Rescue Transformations, in Pictures: Part Two

Every day, cats enter the care of the Catcuddles Sanctuary scared, traumatised, injured, and unwell, and our dedicated team of volunteers and veterinary staff set about transforming their lives for the better. With the help of wonderful adoptive families who welcome these cats into their homes, wounds are healed, illnesses are managed and cured, and once frightened felines become happy and well-adjusted house cats.

It is difficult, but extremely rewarding work.

Yoda - scroll down for his story.

Below are the stories of five cats who experienced such a transformation after being rescued by the charity. At times, they may be difficult to read, but we take solace in knowing that whilst we can do nothing to change how these cat’s stories began, we were able to shape how they ended; all are now happy and loved in forever homes.

1) Eggy

In November 2018, volunteers responded to a report about an injured cat on Eglinton Road, Plumstead, an area notorious for unneutered cats and strays.

The report came from a family who had been feeding the worryingly thin cat for some time. They’d set up a makeshift shelter for him in their front garden, and although he often slept inside it, he’d quickly flee whenever they attempted to get close to him. On more than one occasion they’d noticed that he was bleeding and appeared generally unwell, and so they opted to contact Catcuddles.

Two attempts were made by volunteers to rescue the skittish cat, without success, but he was finally caught after being shut in his improvised shelter as he slept. Being able to examine the cat up close for the first time, volunteers were horrified by his condition.

He was visibly emaciated, with nose and eye discharge, and he lay listless and unresponsive. Most shocking of all, however, was the cat’s ears; they were cut to pieces, covered in raw, open wounds, some old, some fresh and still bleeding. He was taken straight to a Catcuddles collaborating vet.

At the vet, it was revealed that the cat, who was named Eggy after the street in which he was found - Eglinton Road - had a severe infestation of ear mites and a flea allergy. His ears had itched so terribly that he’d torn them to shreds through violent scratching, the itching apparently more unbearable than the pain of reopening old wounds again and again. He was also underweight, anemic, with cat flu symptoms, and as is common among unneutered stray cats, was covered with fight wounds and was FIV positive.

Within an hour of his arrival in the charity’s care, Eggy’s ear mites and flea allergy had been treated. The itching that had tormented him for so long was finally over. But it was just the beginning of our fight to restore him to health.

Eggy would require many months of care before he was finally healthy enough to be considered for adoption. There were times when his progress lagged and we were doubtful that he’d ever make a full recovery. His initial fear of humans quickly faded however, and Eggy came to love fuss and attention from our volunteers.

Finally, the day came when Eggy’s health was stable; his wounds had healed and his bony frame had filled out considerably. His dull fur had even regained some luster. He was ready for a new home at last, and he quickly found one.

When Eggy’s adoptive family sent our team pictures of him in his new home, we couldn’t believe our eyes; he was transformed. No longer the broken cat rescued on that cold November night, these days Eggy is happy, beautiful, healthy, and loved.

2) Brutus

Over the years, we’ve encountered many stray cats like Brutus.

He was a typical seasoned stray; an unneutered tom cat covered in battle scars, with a bulky frame the result of an abundance of testosterone.

He appeared in the garden of a Catcuddles supporter one day, and knowing that he was most likely a stray destined for a difficult life on the streets, she set about rescuing him.

She spent weeks gaining his trust, setting up an outdoor shelter in her garden for him that Brutus would sleep in during rough weather. She was finally able to get him into a carrier one day, and quickly brought him into the charity’s care. Before saying goodbye, Brutus’ rescuer made a generous donation to Catcuddles to cover the cost of his veterinary treatment and upkeep. She is the true hero of this story.

Despite his many years spent as a stray, and his rough, burly appearance, Brutus quickly revealed himself to be a sweet, cuddly cat. He was loved by volunteers, who lavished him with attention.

Thankfully, tests revealed that Brutus was not FIV positive. This was a surprise, as most long-term, unneutered stray cats, particularly males, tend to catch the virus from repeated fights with rival toms for territory. Brutus had been rescued just in time.

Once he was adopted, Brutus’ time on the streets was quickly put behind him. This tough old boy became a spoiled house feline, fond of napping in comfy spots, and absolutely beloved by his family.

3) Yoda

In the summer, five-week old Yoda was rushed to our North London Cat Clinic in critical condition.

Yoda was part of an accidental litter of kittens who had been rejected by their mother. He was severely underweight for his age, with a worryingly low body temperature, a flea infestation so serious that it had caused anemia, and bloody diarrhea. He was at high risk of developing pneumonia, from which he was unlikely to recover.

Yoda was deemed a ‘fading kitten’ by Catcuddles’ Head Vet - a diagnosis dreaded by rescue centres. It’s a term that describes a sudden, rapid decline in the health of a neonatal kitten, and it can have numerous causes. It’s difficult to treat and the prognosis is always uncertain.

Yoda’s owners were not prepared for the huge level of care that would be required to save his life, so they signed him over to the charity, and we immediately began providing emergency treatment. When he was well enough to leave the Clinic, Yoda was fostered by our Head Veterinary Nurse, who was of course particularly qualified to monitor his condition carefully.

To our immense relief, Yoda responded well to treatment, and to the love and attention doted on him by his foster carer. Although his health remained precarious for some weeks, once his condition became stable, he was placed with a litter of kittens who’d also been rescued by Catcuddles, so that he could grow and develop like an ordinary kitten, enjoying pivotal socialisation from his littermates.

Yoda was adopted along with one of his new siblings, Liquorice, by a family who’d previously welcomed another Catcuddles cat called Stardust into their home. Where we once were unsure whether Yoda would even survive the night, we are now certain that a happy and comfortable future lies ahead of him. We’re so glad that he beat the odds.

4) Raewin & Kittens

When Catcuddles volunteers responded to a report of stray kittens at South Bermondsey station on a wet November night, they had no idea of the work that was ahead of them.

The kittens were living on a litter-strewn bank that ran alongside a path running into the station, amongst discarded beer cans and barbed wire. Accessing the bank required entering the back garden of a local pizza takeaway, and then a steep climb across a rickety roof, from which volunteers would jump down onto the bank. In extremely wet weather, it was perilous work.

The kittens were young and would be relatively easy to catch. However, it was imperative that the mother cat was caught before all of her kittens were removed, otherwise, she’d quickly move on and become pregnant again, rendering our volunteers’ hard work moot. This aspect of the rescue would prove extremely challenging, as the mum, having lived so long as a stray, was extremely frightened of people, and reluctant to enter our cat traps.

In total, it took eight consecutive days to capture the entire family, with long shifts of ten hours or more in almost non-stop rain. As the week wore on, the kittens were caught one by one, but the skittish mother cat still stubbornly refused to enter our traps.

Volunteers grew increasingly desperate, especially when the final kitten was rescued, risking the mother disappearing altogether. For the next two days, a team was camped at the scene morning and night, but they had no success in catching the wary female.

Spirits were low and hopes non-existent when the mother cat finally entered the trap on the eighth day of the rescue operation. The relief among the team was indescribable. She was named Raewin, after one of the volunteers who’d helped rescue her. She was reunited with her babies, who were being treated for cat flu symptoms, anemia, and a severe infestation of worms.

The family was warm and safe at last, and that was worth every moment of hard work. After enjoying the comfort of foster care, they’d all go on to be adopted into loving homes.

5) Ketu

In 2017, stray cat Ketu had been regularly visiting a garden in Plumstead, SE18, when he was rescued with little difficulty on Halloween night. It quickly became clear that he was in shockingly poor condition.

Ketu was an elderly cat who had clearly spent much of his life as a stray, and who’d obviously been struggling to cope on the streets in his senior years. Being unneutered, he was covered in fight wounds, the result of repeated conflicts with other unneutered males, and had contracted FIV. His teeth were rotten and his fur was filthy. He also had several ticks on his ears and a severe flea infestation. Most worrying of all, however, was a growth on his foot that was potentially cancerous.

His prognosis was extremely doubtful, but with the help of our collaborating vet in Greenwich, we set about getting him treatment, in hopes that he could at least enjoy some months of comfort in the charity’s care. His litany of health problems were quickly addressed; his growth was surgically removed, and he had extensive dental work done.

To our surprise, Ketu began to improve. Crucial to his recovery was his foster carer, who formed a deep bond with him; being of Italian descent, she gave him his name, Katunja, meaning both ‘big potato’ and ‘sweetheart’ in her native language, which was later shortened to ‘Ketu’. It was through her love and attention that he slowly began to trust people again, after so many years spent without human contact. Ketu had begun to heal, in every sense of the word.

We did not know how much time Ketu had left, so we knew that we’d need to find very special, big-hearted adopters for him. Although adoptive families of this kind are like gold dust, in this case, we were very lucky; Ketu finally got the loving home he’d been deprived of for so many years in 2018. Although he passed away later that year, he left this world a happy, contented cat, who’d known a lifetime’s worth of love in his final weeks. His family would go onto adopt another deserving Catcuddles cat, but they will never forget their ‘big potato’ - and neither will we.

Published by Rae. Find out more about the Catcuddles Team >