My name is Ceri, and I’m one of the Rehoming & Welfare Assistants at Wales Cat Centre. I've worked at the centre since 2016 and have seen thousands of cats and kittens arrive in that time. Some arrive in brilliant health and are ready to home after an initial vet check, going on to be adopted very quickly. Sadly, others arrive in very poor condition and stay with us for several weeks, or even months, while we nurse them back to health.
My blog today is to give an insight into what goes on behind
the scenes here at the centre and share my experiences of working in our
Isolation Unit.
Pictured below is my pride and joy, and best friend in the
world, my cat Toots, who I adopted from Wales Cat Centre 18 years ago when he
was just eight weeks old. (Cute kitten photo of Toots included!)
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| Ceri with her pride and joy, Toots who she adopted from the centre at 8 weeks of age |
Every cat and kitten is given an initial health check on arrival by the Rehoming & Welfare Assistants, before having a veterinary examination. If a cat is displaying any signs of disease or illness that could potentially be contagious, we house them in our Isolation Unit to prevent the spread of infection to healthy cats at the centre.
Some illnesses are contagious, such as cat flu and
infectious diarrhoea. Diarrhoea can be caused by many different viruses and
bacteria. One cause is Parvovirus, a serious illness that sadly has a very high
mortality rate. Some illnesses are also 'zoonotic’, which means they can pass
from cats to humans. Examples include ringworm and gastrointestinal infections
such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium and Campylobacter.
One of the most common illnesses we see is cat flu,
generally in cats admitted from multi-cat households. This is often linked to
financial difficulties, with owners being unable to care for the number of cats
they have. Many have never been vaccinated, neutered, or treated for fleas and
worms. Cats from multi-cat households often do not have enough resources
available to them, such as an adequate numbers of litter trays.
Cats are extremely clean animals and benefit from having
access to appropriate toileting areas. When there aren’t enough litter trays
provided, poo can be spread around the home, increasing the risk of
contamination and disease transmission.
Pictured below is a kitten suffering from flu when she arrived in our care. Her eyes were painful and ulcerated.
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| Kitten admitted into care with cat flu |
As you can see, the transformation by the time he was ready
to be adopted was fantastic.
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| Quinn before and after treatment for cat flu |
A typical day working in Isolation consists of one person
caring for all the cats in the unit. No other team member enters the area
unless they have been specifically allocated to work there. The day starts with
putting on the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). This always
includes shoe covers, a boiler suit, a plastic apron, plastic arm sleeves and
nitrile gloves, all of which are disposed of as clinical waste after use.
For some conditions, we wear additional PPE to protect both
the cats and ourselves, including hair nets, face masks and goggles. Every pen has
their own dedicated cleaning equipment.
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| Personal protective clothing is worn in isolation |
Each morning, and again in the afternoon, I check both the
front and back of every pen to assess the cats' general demeanour and look for
any signs of diarrhoea, vomiting or nasal discharge. The cats are cleaned in a
specific order depending on the condition they are suffering from, their age
and other factors such as their symptoms, stage of treatment and test result
pending.
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| Cats are checked and pens cleaned morning and afternoon |
We use a strong disinfectant to thoroughly clean the pens,
allowing the correct contact time before rinsing it away. We also use
disposable items such as towels and sheets for bedding, cardboard litter trays
and cardboard food trays. All of these are changed daily, carefully bagged and
disposed of in clinical waste bins.
In the main areas of the centre, we use toys such as foil
balls and ping pong balls, as these can be disinfected and reused. We are
unable to do this in isolation area due to the risk of toys becoming fomites
and contributing to the spread of infection. However, we still ensure that the
cats receive appropriate enrichment. We provide items such as soft toys, which
are disposed of daily, as well as disposable scratch boards and cardboard boxes.
Every cat has an observation sheet that is completed twice
daily. Here we record how much they eat, how much they drink, their toileting
habits and the consistency of their poo, with grade one representing diarrhoea
and grade six representing constipation.
We use a variety of monitoring charts in Isolation. Feeding
charts help us track cats and kittens that require supplementary feeding due to
being underweight. This must be done carefully and under veterinary guidance as
overfeeding too much, too soon, can be dangerous.
We also use flu monitoring charts, recording sneeze marks on
pen doors and the number of sneezes heard throughout the day. Diarrhoea
monitoring charts allow us to record all findings over the course of a week.
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| Isolation is a no entry area and various forms are used for recording medication, weight, and daily observations |
If a cat or kitten experiences three consecutive episodes of
diarrhoea, we may change them onto a bland veterinary-approved diet and, on
veterinary advice, provide additional worming treatment or probiotics. Once
their stools begin to firm up, we gradually mix their normal diet back in over
several days, as changing food too quickly can lead to further stomach upset.
We often collect poo samples and send them to a laboratory
for testing. This helps identify any gastrointestinal infections and allows the
vet to prescribe the most appropriate treatment.
We also keep weight charts and regularly weigh cats and kittens either daily or twice weekly to monitor their progress. In addition, we have an Isolation reference folder containing information about different illnesses and the correct barrier nursing procedures for each condition.
My team and I take part in multiple training sessions
throughout the year to increase our knowledge of different illnesses, keep up
with any advances in veterinary care and make sure we continue following best
practice.
Being an animal lover, it is understandably upsetting to see
cats so poorly, weak and in pain. However, the reward at the end, knowing that
I have played a part in getting them back to good health and helping them find
loving new homes, makes it all worthwhile.
We will exhaust all appropriate treatment options to help
cats recover. Every decision is carefully discussed by our field vet, centre
vet and management team, who always have the cat's welfare, quality of life and
best interests at heart.
Sometimes this means surgery is required, as was the case
for Ranchi and Rome, pictured below. They arrived from a multi-cat household
suffering from severe flu and extremely painful ulcerated eyes. After weeks of
eye drops and medication, we were able to save one of Rome's eyes. Sadly,
Ranchi's eyes had deteriorated to the point where the only option left to
ensure she was pain free was the removal of both eyes.
Her eyes were so badly ulcerated that she had already lost
her sight, so she would not have known any different after surgery. Photos of
both cats following their operations are included below, and they were so much
happier afterwards.
Cats like Ranchi adapt incredibly well following bilateral
eye removal. Their hearing and sense of smell become even more important, and
they can go on to live happy, enriching lives with caring owners who make a few
simple adjustments to keep their homes accessible and safe.
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| Ranchi and Romeo before and after flu treatment, and eye removal surgery |
Other cases have stayed with me throughout the years,
including Willow, a very poorly kitten who was found alone, cold and wet at a
recycling centre. She was extremely underweight and collapsed on arrival.
Had Willow not come into our care when she did, she sadly
would not have survived. She was immediately rushed to the vets, where she
received fluids and underwent an x-ray because she was struggling to stand.
This is when we discovered she was also suffering from hypothermia and had
sustained a head injury.
Sadly, this left her with some brain damage, affecting her
mobility and making her a little wobbly when she walked. However, as time went
on, she grew stronger and stronger and, just like Ranchi, adapted incredibly
well. She became a happy, playful kitten.
Below is a before and after photo of Willow and the amazing
transformation she made before being adopted.
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| Willow's transformation was amazing |
I have come across many illnesses while working here, but
the rarest was cowpox. A young male cat was found outdoors in a rural area and
admitted into our care with painful sores and pus-filled lesions across his
face and body.
Cowpox is a viral infection usually contracted through
contact with infected rodents, either through hunting or being bitten. It took
several months, a lot of medication and plenty of TLC, but he eventually made a
full recovery and found his forever home.
Working in isolation can be challenging at times, both
physically and emotionally, but it is also one of the most rewarding parts of
my role. Seeing a cat or kitten arrive frightened, unwell and needing intensive
care, then watching them recover and go on to find a loving home, makes all the
hard work worthwhile. Every cat that comes through our doors receives the care,
treatment and compassion they need, and this is only possible thanks to the help
of our wonderful supporters.
