My Poorly Cat

xxamypxx · 30 November 2009 at 7:02PM

Background... stray male (Puss) turned up around 14 months ago. We had no previous cats. Didn't encourage im until we realised he was living in our canoe and not eating at all. He eventually began living with us.

Stray female (Catkin) turned up roughly 9 months ago. Very close to Puss, very timid - did not encourage but 4 days later she agve birth to 3 kittens (Bingo, Bongo and Noah).

Now 9 months old, planned to find homes at 8 weeks but couldn't and loved having them around too much. No insurance bought (stupid!) but was going to get this as a Xmas present.

Now, Noah has what appears to be a broken leg - vet has given options of:

- fix broken leg (£1,000 roughly)
- amputate leg (£300 roughly)
- give cat to cat shelter.

Obviously we do not want to give up cat, and I couldn't stand seeing him with only 3 legs - I would feel it was my fault for not paying out £1,000. However, money is very tight and Dad is currently paying for everything and struggling as it is.

I am on JSA (desperate to come off it!) - does anyone know if I can get any assistance from this, or from any other sources?

Thanks

Amy

geri1965_2 · 30 November 2009 at 7:06PM

If you're on JSA, try the PDSA or RSPCA. You'll need to be quick if the cat is suffering, might be best to give them a ring first thing in the morning.

I think PDSA say you have to be in receipt of housing benefit and live in their catchment area, I know the RSPCA are not as stringent but I don't know if they are near to where you are.

xxamypxx · 30 November 2009 at 7:30PM

geri1965 wrote: »

If you're on JSA, try the PDSA or RSPCA. You'll need to be quick if the cat is suffering, might be best to give them a ring first thing in the morning.

I think PDSA say you have to be in receipt of housing benefit and live in their catchment area, I know the RSPCA are not as stringent but I don't know if they are near to where you are.

Thanks. I did call them all day but I couldn't get through on the number provided by the website.

I am also a student - not sure if that helps in any way?

geri1965_2 · 30 November 2009 at 7:57PM

Have a look on here to see if there are any animal hospitals near you:

http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirect&pg=YrLocalHome

Claire_Bear · 30 November 2009 at 7:57PM

Yep, I think being a student counts with the PDSA, my friends are currently getting jabs for their cats with them as they are unemployed and at uni. I don't think it's free, but they can definately offer you help so I'd give them a ring and have a chat about what options they can give. So sorry to hear about poor little Noah's leg

xxamypxx · 30 November 2009 at 8:22PM

Thanks for all your help.

I'll be trying the PDSA again tomorrow morning and also the RSPCA.

Thanks

xx

cyberbob · 30 November 2009 at 9:22PM

We had a 3 legged cat (front one missing) she was healthy no problems getting around at all. She had a long and happy life. So if you have to go this route its not the end of the road. Depending on the break amputation can sometimes be better than fixing it in cats

xxamypxx · 30 November 2009 at 9:41PM

cyberbob wrote: »

We had a 3 legged cat (front one missing) she was healthy no problems getting around at all. She had a long and happy life. So if you have to go this route its not the end of the road. Depending on the break amputation can sometimes be better than fixing it in cats

The vet did say that it isn't always a bad ting but I just don't think I could look at him and know that he was like that because I couldn't fork out the money for him.

It is such a difficult situation because we didn't plan for these cats - the first were strays and they had kittens and we should have given them away but I'm too soft!

Hopefully it will all work out, I am just sat here cuddling him and in tears thinking about the possibility of having to give him away!

Fire_Fox · 30 November 2009 at 10:20PM

((((hugs))))

Please enquire about getting all of your cats neutered at the same time as getting the leg sorted: if it's ok with you I will post a link to this thread on the Purrsinourhearts website as there are lots of rescues and charities represented there. Where are you in the country?

I had to leave my two cats when I left my husband as I did not have a stable home for them - it was incredibly hard but the right thing to do. At nine months old the kittens will probably find loving new homes easily, wait until they are two years old and they may end up in a pen for months.

xxamypxx · 30 November 2009 at 10:37PM

Fire_Fox wrote: »

((((hugs))))

Please enquire about getting all of your cats neutered at the same time as getting the leg sorted: if it's ok with you I will post a link to this thread on the Purrsinourhearts website as there are lots of rescues and charities represented there. Where are you in the country?

I had to leave my two cats when I left my husband as I did not have a stable home for them - it was incredibly hard but the right thing to do. At nine months old the kittens will probably find loving new homes easily, wait until they are two years old and they may end up in a pen for months.

We have had the Mum and Dad neutered and I am looking in to getting the kittens done - they are all male.

Is there any chance that a shelter would put Noah down instead of operating?

I am in Devon, and feel free to post it on the website.

Thanks

BitterAndTwisted · 30 November 2009 at 10:41PM

OP please, please don't worry about your puss becoming a tripod! They learn to compensate for the missing limb and can scoot about just like they did with four legs. I guarantee you it will not affect its mobility one iota. Promise.

Good luck with your searches and top marks for taking in your strays, too.

ETA: Darling, a lot of shelters have a no-kill policy and I doubt even the "official" ones would euthanise a healthy cat for want of simple surgery.

My Poorly Cat

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