A terribly emaciated cat who appeared to be barely alive was dumped at The Mayhew Animal Home last week by a family who then fled the scene before staff could talk to them.

The parents sent their young son into our shelter with the female cat in a pet carrier with no door and only a towel thrown over the top.

When our Animal Welfare Officer, Tania Mazzoni, was alerted to the situation she was handed the carrier which had the name “Rocky” scribbled on the top. Poor Rocky seemed to be half dead inside the carrier, and was unable to move her head or stand.

The young boy told Tania that his family had found Rocky on the side of the road and that his parents were waiting outside. When Tania asked the boy to go get his parents to sign the paperwork to have Rocky signed over, the parents ushered the boy into the car and then sped away.

Our Vet Team found that Rocky was in a horrific condition when she was brought into the clinic. Rocky was completely emaciated, freezing cold, dehydrated and had a lot of puss running out of her mouth. She was unresponsive and weak, and she seemed barely alive.

By the condition of her teeth, our Vet Team estimated that Rocky was roughly ten years old.

Heartbreakingly, our Vet Team discovered that Rocky was too far gone and that the kindest thing to do for her was to relieve her from her terrible suffering, and put her to sleep. With loving care and pain relieving medication, the team were able to send Rocky off in peace, knowing that at last she was settled, relaxed and safe.

Rocky had clearly been suffering for weeks and the level of neglect she had endured is truly unimaginable.

Our Animal Welfare Officers rescue hundreds of neglected, abandoned and abused animals every year, and urge people to contact us before their pet deteriorates into a worse state of health, as Rocky did.

Our Animal Welfare Manager, Zoe Edwards, said: “To let a cat get to such a neglected state like Rocky and not do anything before it was too late, is cruel and irresponsible. We don’t know who owned Rocky but we only wish that whoever did had come forward to us sooner, so we could have done more to help.”

“We absolutely encourage people who are having problems with taking their pet to the vet to get in contact with us so we can see what we can do to help, no matter what the reason is. We do not judge anyone, we are here to help the animal and prevent suffering.”

Our Head Vet, Ursula Goetz, said: “Sadly, the kindest thing to do for Rocky was to put her to sleep as she was too far gone. She was clearly in a lot of pain and it would have been unfair to prolong her suffering. To get to that stage she was in would have taken a few weeks.”

Find out more about our Animal Welfare Officers’ work and please consider donating to help them help more animals like Rocky.
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