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    • 25 Sep, 2018

    Thrown away like rubbish

    “I’m Alisa, Deputy Head of Animal Welfare at Mayhew, and I want to tell you about a cat and her eight-week-old kittens who were cruelly dumped at the side of the road.”

    abandoned kittens
    “A member of the public had seen a car pull up beside a tree and was horrified to see the driver open the door and throw out the kittens and mother cat at the side of the road before speeding away. Luckily the person acted quickly, scooping up the four terrified kittens before they could run away. Unfortunately, there was no sign of their mother as she had panicked and bolted.

    The rescuer called Mayhew and I asked them to bring the kittens into us as soon as possible. They were covered in fleas, shaking with fear and continuously crying for their mum. I settled them into a warm cabin, gave them food and stayed with them. While sitting in the quiet calm of our cattery I decided to name them after the Animal Welfare team here at Mayhew: Georgina, Tania, Paul and Alisa.

    Round-the-clock care

    The next morning I took them straight into our Vet Clinic to be thoroughly checked over. Thankfully, Paul, Georgina and Tania were in good health but the vets were concerned about Alisa as she was drinking a lot of water and urinating excessively. She was closely monitored by the Vet team and Cattery staff and blood tests and urine analyses were taken to establish what was wrong. A couple of days later, we were contacted by another member of the public who had spotted the mother cat near to where the kittens were found. The cat had been frantically searching the area for the last two days trying to find her kittens and when she came into Mayhew she was very distressed, disorientated and starving. We calmed her down, made her warm and comfortable and gave her some food. We named the mum Zoe after our Head of Animal Welfare.

    cute kitten

    Fighting for Alisa

    Once the kittens were bigger and stronger, Tania, Georgina and Paul were neutered in preparation for adoption and mum, Zoe, soon found a new home. However, little Alisa’s health was deteriorating. Mayhew Vet, Emma, explained that the blood tests had shown she was very anaemic, most likely from the severe flea infestation, and the urine analysis revealed a significant problem with her kidneys. Having already suffered so much in her young life and being so weakened, the prognosis for her was very poor. Sadly, it was decided to alleviate Alisa’s painful struggle and bring her life to an end. As you can imagine, I was heartbroken to say goodbye to little Alisa, my namesake. She had such a loving nature despite her poor health and I cuddled her for her final moments to help her feel safe and calm before she drifted away.

    abandoned kittens in box

    Can you help us to help more animals?

    At Mayhew we take in animals like Zoe and her kittens that are cruelly abandoned, simply thrown away like a piece of rubbish, every single day. Our Animal Welfare team is the first port of call for members of the public who find an animal in need of help and we are available to assist in any situation. We ensure that every animal at Mayhew receives the best care no matter how sick they are. We will do absolutely everything in our power to help them get better. And if, like poor Alisa, we sadly can’t, then we’ll make sure they are warm, comfortable and loved in their final hours. Mayhew relies solely on public donations so we urgently need your support to continue our work.”

     

    Please give a donation today and help more animals like Alisa and her family. Thank you.

    could provide urine analysis tests to check for medical conditions in animals like Alisa

    could provide a haematology blood test to help our vets make an accurate diagnosis

    could help keep our animal ambulance running for one day so we can save more animals

    Alisa Ford
    Deputy Head of Animal Welfare Community

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