Cats Protection Bridgend Journal part 2!

It is the time of year again when the Christmas trees are coming out, homes are being decorated and it is no different here at the centre, which is looking very festive after our cat carers took time out from their busy schedules to bring a bit of festive cheer to the place.  Our memory tree is also up in reception ready to celebrate the lives of much loved cats who have passed away.  To find out more about dedicating a special decoration on our tree, click here

It is also the end of another busy month in the centre, during which 120 cats and kittens were admitted into our care.  One particular kitten who touched all our hearts and is a firm favourite with all of us is Toothless, he was in a sorry state when he was found with his sibling in someone’s garden at just 5 weeks of age. They both had horrific diarrhoea, flu and were very malnourished, sadly, the sibling passed away. 

Toothless was very poorly when he was found

Toothless , however proved to be a little survivor, he rallied around after a worming treatment cleared his huge burden of round worms and antibiotics cleared up his flu symptoms.  With the magic ingredient of extra TLC, Toothless now has a new lease of life!  He is bouncing around his pen, rolling on his stomach and loving his toys, whilst firmly wrapping his paws around our hearts. 

  

Toothless, a little survivor  

113 cats and kittens left our care to their forever homes during the month!  What makes this figure extra special is seeing some of our long stay cats leaving us including our longest staying cat Freddie who was with us for over 100 days.  Freddie is a friendly cat but found the centre environment very frightening and spent most of his time cowering and hiding.  Our cat carers worked hard to bring him out of his shell but he was still very reclusive.  We are delighted that his new humans saw passed his shyness to the lovely cat he is underneath.

Freddie, our longest staying cat has been adopted

Freddie was also our sponsor cat and now that he has left us, we have a new cat to take his place.  Her name is Lily, you might remember her from last week’s blog, she is a 17-year-old cat who was diagnosed as hyperthyroid.  She was waiting for surgery to have her thyroid glands removed at the time, well we are glad to say that she has now had her operation and a much needed dental and is making a remarkable recovery.  You can find out more about becoming a Cats Protection sponsor cat by visiting www.cats.org.uk/BAC

17 year old Lily is our new sponsor cat

This week, the lovely Delia gave birth to 4 beautiful kittens, 3 girls and 1 boy, they are a lovely little family and both mum and kittens are doing well.  We asked for name suggestions on our last blog and FB page  and being as Christmas is not far away, we have decided to call the girls Holly, Ivy, Fern and the boy Berry.  Festive names to suit the time of you, Hope you like our chosen names and thank you all for putting your suggestions forward.

  

Delilah with her 4 new born kittens

Before we go just a couple of updates on some of the cats from our last entry, Felix is still recovering from his operation to have his tail amputated, his recovery has taken longer than normal, and he is still under vet care,  hopefully it won’t before he makes a full recovery.

Rascal and Cookie the beautiful 5 months old kittens were adopted as soon as they became available and have left us to start life in their new home, we are looking forward to having news as to how they are settling in their new home.

That is all for now, hope you have enjoyed reading part 2 of journal; we are looking forward to sharing more news and stories with you in our next entry.

Bye for now!

Cats Protection Bridgend Journal!

18.11.2018.

Well it is the end of the week and it has been a  particularly busy one so we are all looking forward to going home and putting our feet up before starting all over again!  

This week we had 23 cats admitted into our care for all sort of reasons, stray, newborn baby, not settled with other pets in the home, financial reasons, owner unable to cope, and so on.   People are not always understanding of others who rehome their pets but we have seen the other side of this.  We have given out many tissues to teary-eyed owners who have had to make the heart breaking decision to part with their pets.  We reassure them that we will do our best for their much-loved cat and encourage them to keep in touch with us for updates. 

Two of the cats admitted to us this week are Rascal and Cookie, they were found in a park when they were 5 weeks of age. The people who found them took them in planning to give them their forever home, sadly, their grandson developed an allergic reaction to them and 4 months later, they contacted us asking for help rehoming them. 

Oscar and Cookie, admitted due to allegry.

What makes our job worthwhile is seeing the cats leaving our care to their forever homes, and this week was exceptionally busy with 27 cats and kittens leaving our care. Some of the cats and kittens adopted had been with us a few days and others for over 2 months.  It is especially rewarding to see cats and kittens that have needed extra TLC leaving and this is very much so the case with a special little kitten called Sabrina.  

Sabrina, left us to her forever home this week

Sabrina was admitted to us at 8 weeks of age suffering with untreated flu, she was in very poor condition and very frightened of people.  She had weeks of medication and underwent surgery on her eye before being well enough to find her forever home.  She has been left partially sighted and with permanent damage to both her eyes so will be kept as an indoor cat by her new owners.  It is heart-warming to see Sabrina being adopted and having the chance of a new start in life she desperately deserves.   

In our admission corridors, we have some special cats recovering from and waiting for surgery, including the handsome Felix.

Felix had an operation to amputate his tail.

Felix was admitted to us because he was living as a stray since July 2018.  Felix tested positive for the FIV virus but he is healthy and friendly so will be rehomed as an indoor cat.  Our cat carers quickly noticed that Felix’s tail was limp and had no feeling in it.  A vet exam confirmed that he had received an injury at some point causing paralysis of his tail and an operation was needed to amputate it.  Thankfully, the operation went well and Felix is well on his way to recovery.

Another extra special cat in our care is 17-year-old Lilly who was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.  We are currently waiting for blood results for her following a 3-week course of medication to stabilise her condition to allow our vet to operate to remove her thyroid glands. She is a real sweet heart and loves being brushed.  We are all keeping our fingers and toes crossed as we wait for the results to come in

17 year old Lilly is waiting for an operation

With 19 cats and kittens reserved, we are going to have another busy week ahead!  We are most excited about seeing our long stay golden oldie Rhianna leave us to her forever home after 78 days in our care.  Our cat carers and volunteers who haven’t been working today will be delighted when they hear the news :) 

                                                      

                                                        

Long stay Rhianna is reserved

We are also anticipating the heavily pregnant cat in our car Delilah giving birth.  We thought she was going to do so in the last few days but she has decided to keep us waiting!  In the meanwhile, we are all taking guesses at how many kittens she is going to have and what colours, what do you think?  You can join in by writing your guesses in the comments.

Well we are off now to settle the cats for the night, hope you have enjoyed reading this journal entry and watch out for more to come!

Bye for now!

Blind and Patially Sighted Cats

Here at Cats Protection Bridgend AC, we have cared for many cats with a variety of special requirements, including cats that are either partially or fully blind. There are many different causes for cat blindness, and while some cats can be born blind, others may lose their sight gradually over a long period of time.



Handsome Popeye was fully blind but was able to get around amazingly using his whiskers.



What signs or symptoms of blindness should cat owners look out for?

-Cats who are losing their sight may be prone to bumping into items of furniture, especially more so at night or when lighting is poor. You may also notice he has trouble judging the height of objects when jumping.

The eye(s) may also change in appearance, and could become enlarged or cloudy looking. You may also notice that the pupils do not dilate with changing light levels.

 

How can I help a blind cat?

Cats are generally a very adaptive species, and are still able to enjoy a good quality of life by compensating with their other senses.  

Try to make the furniture in the home nice and safe, and avoid moving it around too often as the cat will become accustomed to where everything is located, and will have a mental map of the room and furniture. Try to avoid leaving unexpected obstacles on the floor, especially small items that the cat will not be able to detect with his whiskers. 

Scent is incredibly important to all cats, but especially to blind cats. Allow your cat to walk around and get used to his surroundings, and try to avoid picking him up so he can use his scent glands in his paws to lay a scent trail to come back to.

Let your cat know you’re there- use your voice to gently notify him of your presence before picking him up or petting him. Try not to be too loud or make sudden loud noises that might startle him.

If your cat is blind in one eye, try to approach him from his ‘good eye’ side where possible.

Blind cats still love to play, so using squeaky, rattley or crinkly toys will help engage him. You can also engage other senses such as smell or taste with treat toys and catnip.

Avoid letting your blind or partially sighted cat outside unsupervised, as there are too many risks and dangers that he may not be able to navigate.

Cats Protection also recommends that blind cats should be the only pet in the home, to minimise stress.

Most of all, be patient.  Sudden or gradual blindness is a lot to get used to, even for our adaptable feline friends. Your cat may seem a little grumpy or fearful as he gets accustomed to using his new senses. Be kind, quiet and gentle as he adjusts.

Some blind cats will use their paws to swipe in front of them to ascertain what is there. As an owner of a blind cat, you may find yourself receiving the occasional paw to the leg as you walk around! Try to be patient if this happens as the cat is simply trying to find his way about

 

 



Bubba had to have one eye removed as it was damaged when he suffered with cat flu in the home. After healing from his surgery, he found a loving home.

 

Beautiful Bear was found to be fully blind when he came into our care, but it didn’t stop him from being a playful little lovebug who found his forever home as an indoor only cat.

 

Beautiful Serena is only 5 months old but due to severe cat flu as a kitten is now partially sighted. Lucky for her she has found a loving home which she is headed to this week :)

Think you could offer a home to a cat with special requirements? We always have lots of lovely cats for adoption here at our Bridgend Adoption Centre. Pop in and see us at Pant Hirwaun, Bryncethin, Bridgend CF32 9UJ.