When 8-year-old tabby Tom found himself homeless last year, he thought he might have found a new feline family when he came across a colony of feral cats living in a nearby community garden.

Volunteers who maintained the garden fed the cat colony regularly, and there was plenty of space to roam and play. Tom tried to make friends with the other cats, but sadly wasn’t as welcomed as he hoped. Tom and many of the stray and feral cats in the area were unneutered, which led to multiple fights breaking out. Because Tom was small for his age and new to the area, he was singled out and regularly got scratched, bitten and bullied by the other cats, despite him being a lover and not a fighter.

Luckily, the community garden volunteers soon noticed that Tom was getting hurt, and called Mayhew for help.

When our Animal Welfare Officers (AWOs) arrived on the scene, they found Tom covered in scratches and scabs. He was also limping, and had a painful looking open cut on his front leg.

Our AWOs brought Tom straight to our Community Vet Clinic to treat his wounds, and gave him a full health check. Our Vets took an x-ray of Tom’s sore leg to make sure there was no further internal damage, which luckily came back clear.

Our Vets did notice that one of Tom’s teeth was chipped and likely to cause him pain and distress, so we also removed the offending canine and gave him a full descale and polish.

Happily, none of Tom’s surface wounds were severe, and after he’d healed and been neutered he was ready to be rehomed. It wasn’t long before a new owner fell completely in love with him, and he was officially adopted – finally finding the peace, love and home comforts he’d been hoping for!

Our Animal Welfare Officers have since returned to the area where Tom was found to Trap, Neuter, and Return (TNR) the feral cat population. TNR helps to control and contain stray cat populations, and prevents further breeding, antisocial behaviour and the spread of infectious diseases such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).

Feral cats have different needs to their domestic relations, and it is important that each are taken into consideration when treating animals like Tom and his old neighbours. Our experienced teams give feral cats a full health check when they are brought in for neutering, and ensure an area is suitable and safe before returning them.

If you are concerned about a colony of feral cats in your area, please email our Animal Welfare Officers at [email protected] or call 020 8962 8000.