My family have come across a lovely little cat we've been feeding for a few weeks until it gained confidence, abandoned matted and in serious need of help. My parents would like to home the cat and due to its age let it live out its days in front of a warm fire and loving family. Meet Gizmo (or so her chip says) owners are long gone and the cat was left for death. She appears to have serious eye issues, matted fur and urine burn to her back leg (apparently) due to an obstruction, apart from being extremely malnourished she is fixable but it appears at a cost. Its currently in the care of my aunts fiancé who owns a cattery and has given it a accommodation and love while vets take care My parents are in no financial position to give this cat the fix it requires and therefore unless something can be done for it within the next few days with the greatest of pain it will be put down. I can't let that happen but cannot afford to fund this myself. My question is, in what sort of ball park are we talking to give this cat the fix it requires neutering and the like? any experience with strays and getting them fixed up? We're currently running through family routing through sofas for change as we speak!
Thanks pal, The vet is currently contacting RSPCA to see if they can make a contribution, I'm not sure if you're limited to contacting one charity for support or what... I'm very alien to this sort of thing Just making sure this cat keep purring!
With respect, there's not much point asking on here for estimates of vet's bills - speak to your vet instead. Even if we have vets on here, the answer is going to depend on exactly what sort of nick the animal is in and how much needs to be done. Neutering should be about £60, but it's the other stuff that could be seriously expensive.
I appreciate that, I wasn't asking for an accurate quote nor expecting a vet. Although it wasn't very clear I was more looking for others experiences which could provide warning as my parents move forward in the process. For example homing a stray and things to be careful of
I would contact all the animal charities you can, but only accept help from the one that gives you the best (or any) offer. You can always tell the others that you've found a solution that doesn't require their aid and thank them for their time. Accepting free/discounted treatment from more than one could get iffy if they find out, one or both might ask to be paid back. As well as the PDSA and RSPCA there is the Blue Cross.
My girlfriend rescued a cat not too long back and cover all the initial checks, drops for eye infection, worming and de-licing etc. Think it would all come to around the £200 mark and we looked at a vets who did a year payment plan which covered injections at 3 and 6 months I believe and a repeat course of working/licing stuff. Robin (the cat - not the girlfriend) was rehomed with someone who had another cat as he pretty much attacked anything in the house and being freshly furnished / new kitchen 12 months ago he was ruining everything but my girlfriend has happy cause she knows she's likely saved his life.
This has taken a turn for the strange, My parents weren't ultra happy on footing the bill but satisfied on taking the cat in as a new member of the family. It wasn't something they had planned and if anything they weren't keen on getting any new animal after losing our beloved dog 8 years ago. We've just received a call from my aunts fiancé after discussion with the RSPCA, they will front £700! to cover the cats treatment. Clearly this means the cat will be put up for adoption through them (incase we were the real owner after cheap treatment) They've been given a number to follow and if the cat is still not homed within a certain period of time my parents will take her on. Its just nice to know she is out of this cold weather and being fed!
Sure, if they have deliberately neglected and abandoned this cat. But a lot of owners lose pets, and if they don't keep their details updated on the microchip database then the chances of being reunited with their lost pet are slim indeed. Not sure we've got enough info in the OP to castigate the previous owners - the OP says "owners are long gone and the cat was left for death" but the latter part of that statement could be wild supposition. TL;DR - not every pet owner who has lost a pet is a heartless scumbag. Ah, got you. Well, a friend of mine recently took in a stray cat that had been lost and living rough for a couple of years. Fortunately, it was in considerably better health than your moggy, but still needed a full course of worming, flea treatment, inoculations and boosters, which totted up to around £200. It didn't have any specific health issues, though. From my experience of owning cats, vet bills can rack up and become extremely expensive if you go beyond basic treatment, so if this cat needs any surgery or long-term medication then expect to face a bill in the hundreds. If this cat has been a pet previously and isn't too wary of people, then I wouldn't expect any issues in terms of behavioural problems (especially if it's going into an environment where there aren't any other pets). Just give the cat time and space to get to grips with its new environment. Hope that's a bit more helpful than my previous post
Well update from my aunts fiance, the cat is officially taken on by the RSPCA my parents are satisfied. They would have happily taken it on but with potential issues they didn't know if that would have caused them some issues. Its quite an old cat and the RSPCA have provided a whopping £700 to cover its vet costs! I'm absolutely thrilled that its off the streets and in the care of people that will atleast keep it warm fed and watered. Like my dad said and i agree, he would rather have taken the cat in for 6 years than walk down the back with a rubbish bag to find its body. He would never have lived with himself knowing he had turned his back on an animal needing help Edit: despite my aunts fiancé having 4 cats he has taken a shine to our find and will likely take the girl on himself! Happy ending
