We have just crossed the 50% mark on our fundraising target, which is amazing! Over the next week we will, as promised, be sharing some of the animals’ stories to show you just where your money goes and how vital it is in helping us to continue with the work we do! With three weeks to go I’m really hopeful that we will smash it!
Mr. Bojangles was found as a stray by a lovely old lady in her garden. He was very thin, dirty and just very unloved. It was clear that at some point in his past he had been looked after as he is just so friendly and he had been castrated. His finder started her search for his owner, but after two months of searching with no owner coming forward and no pets allowed in her property, she needed a more permanent solution for this lovely old boy and that is where we stepped in to offer him a space in our rescue.
Mr Bojangles was very distressed when he first came in, he didn’t want to eat and he hadn’t passed any urine or faeces, which is a massive worry so he was taken straight to the vets for a full mot!
Unfortunately, we found that at some point in his past he has obviously been hit by something hard (possibly a car) as all of his teeth are smashed, but surprisingly none of them seem to be causing him any discomfort and with a full blood screening done he was given medicine to encourage him to eat.
The following day his appetite was most definitely back! We had the loudest purr and the biggest wee in the litter tray, a relief for everyone!. The vet called to say that his bloods were pretty good for an old boy but that it did look like he was in the first stages of renal failure, so some further tests where required to see just how bad it is. Those tests are currently running but we are positive that he has a good couple of years left in him!
Some people may question why we would run expensive tests on a old cat? For us though, it is super important: animals are really good at hiding how sick they are and we never want any of our animals to suffer in silence! Also, although Mr. Bojangles is old, we want to find him a home where he can be a lap cat with someone that is happy to have a purring (and rather dribbly) companion!
Vet fees are a huge part of pet ownership and your visits to the vet will increase when you have an older animal, so it is important that we can let potential new owners know how much this is likely to be: it’s important that everyone has the information they need to be able to make informed decisions as to whether they can afford to take Mr. Bonjangles (or any other animal) on and give him the care that he needs.
Older cats can be really hard to home as they are generally looking for a quieter household and on top of that with their veterinary care being more expensive, many households just can’t afford to take it on. As hard as it is to talk about; many people also don’t want an animal that may only last a few years – you do get the odd exception though: I love the oldies! An older animal can be as cute as any puppy or kitten and while I know they wont be with me forever, I really enjoy making their final years the best! We never put an oldie down just for being old and if they can’t find a home, they will stay here until their dying day, but I think that at their age they deserve to have their person to love and adore them! Here at the rescue, the love has to shared around!
Click here to see a video of The amazing Mr Bojangles
