When little Bilbo arrived at Mayhew, it was clear he had been through the wars. He was dehydrated, suffering from severe diarrhoea and the area around his behind looked sore and inflamed.

Our Vets and Animal Welfare Officers immediately gave Bilbo a full health check, and prescribed fluids, probiotics and antibiotics. He was not showing any signs of abdominal abnormalities, and apart from his visible gastrointestinal distress, he seemed to be bright and friendly. We soon discovered that the source of his irritation was a partially digested plastic bag, which Bilbo began to vomit up.

We cleaned Bilbo up and settled him down to recover in our Cat Ward. Overnight, he vomited up two more pieces of plastic bag, and our Vets continued to monitor him around the clock.

After a few days on medication, Bilbo’s diarrhoea began to clear up, and he stopped vomiting. Our Vets were confident that all of the plastic bag had been expelled, but continued to keep a close eye on his behaviour and faeces to ensure that his digestive tract was healing as expected.

Littering can be extremely dangerous to stray, wild and owned animals. They cannot break down plastic in their digestive system; if plastic is ingested, they are at risk of obstruction, poisoning and even death.

Happily, Bilbo did not suffer any severe, long-lasting consequences, and showed himself to be a happy chap with a healthy appetite. After a week of rest, he was ready to be neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before finding a new home.

Being such a handsome boy, it wasn’t long before 1.5 year-old Bilbo attracted attention. We are thrilled to say that he is already reserved, and is waiting to go on a brand new adventure with his fur-ever family – who have promised him his very own garden-sized ‘Shire’ and a warm, cosy hobbit hole to curl up in every night!

Despite Bilbo’s traumatic experience, he is a friendly and playful soul who loves to show affection and receive lots of fuss and cuddles. Every single one of our cats awaiting adoption has their own unique personality – to find out who might be a good match for you, sign up to our cat alert emails!