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    • 20 Jun, 2016

    A lucky escape

    [donate text=”Make a one-off donation now to help animals like Molly”]

    [link type=”primary” text=”Or set up a small regular donation” url=”https://www.themayhew.org/donate/recurring-donation” type=”secondary”]

    Meet Molly, a young female cat who fell from the third floor of a tower block in West London. The apartment had access to a balcony but the owner had put netting  across to prevent her from escaping. However, Molly had not been neutered and as soon as came into season she was desperate to get out and find a mate. She managed to break through the protection on her owner’s balcony and fell three floors from the window. 

    apartment block_small

    A resident of the tower block discovered Molly huddled in a corner by the entrance, looking extremely scared and with blood coming out of her nose. The resident did not recognise her so she brought her straight to The Mayhew.

    Our Vet team could see straight away that little Molly was in a lot of pain and had su ffered an impact as she was so huddled up. She was unsteady on her hind legs, couldn’t stand on her front left leg and had blood crusted around her nostrils and in her mouth. She must have been in incredible agony and shock.

    X-rays and an ultrasound revealed that she was su ffering from a broken front leg and a fractured pelvis. Molly was put on pain relief, her limbs were bandaged and we gave her plenty of love, care and rest to help her get better.

    Molly with bandaged leg edited

    Whilst Molly was recovering, our Animal Welfare O fficers got to work to find her owner, with the help of the lady who brought her into us. We discovered that the owner also lived in the building and was an elderly lady who had been hospitalised and had arranged for someone to visit Molly during the day to feed her and keep her company. The owner had owned cats all her life and always got them neutered, but had been wrongly advised to wait for Molly to be at least six months old before getting her neutered.

    A female cat can actually get pregnant from as young as 4 months of age. Unfortunately it’s this common misconception that owners must wait for their cat to be older before neutering, which adds to the number of cats who end up on the streets or at shelters such as The Mayhew. Even indoor cats need to be neutered as it not only helps with behavioural issues, but accidents can happen – especially in a situation like Molly’s when the cat is desperate to escape.

    “Poor Molly went through an awful ordeal and must have been in a lot of pain after falling from such a great height,” says Zoe Edwards, Animal Welfare Manager at The Mayhew. “When a female cat is in season they are restless and hormonal, and their instincts will make them do everything they can to find a male – which might have been what made Molly so desperate to break through.”

    At The Mayhew we o ffer help and support to pet owners who are ill, vulnerable and facing a personal crisis in their life and for Molly, we covered all of the veterinary costs for her care.

    After recovering at our vet clinic for eight weeks, where she was also neutered, our Animal Welfare O fficers were able to return Molly to her family. We continued to visit Molly and her owner at home at regular intervals to make sure she was getting better, that the balcony netting was reinforced and that the owner was getting the support she needed.

    It is only because of donations from people like you that we are able to help animals and their owners when they need it most. If you’d like to help us help more pets like Molly, please make a donation today.

    We need your support to help more animals like Molly

    Your £50 could pay to neuter a cat like Molly
    Your £25 could provide a heat pad to keep an animal warm after surgery
    Your £10 could provide a cosy fleece blanket for one of our animals
    Your £5 could provide a healthy, nutritious meal for one of our residents

    You can make a donation quickly and easily using the buttons below or by calling us on 020 8206 5870. 

    [donate text=”Make a one-off donation now to help animals like Molly”]

    [link type=”primary” text=”Or set up a small regular donation” url=”https://www.themayhew.org/donate/recurring-donation” type=”secondary”]

    Thank you.

    Gillian Notton signature

     

     

     

    Gillian Notton, Head of Animal Welfare

     

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