Before the lockdown, and whilst the majority of people and pets across the country were cosied up inside during Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis earlier this year, a couple of cats found themselves abandoned on the street inside two old crisp boxes.

They had nothing but the flimsy cardboard walls to protect them from the elements. 

Three year old Wotsit and his sister Pringles, also three, were discovered outside our Home, each taped up in a small cardboard box. Neither of the boxes had air holes, and both cats could easily have suffocated. The boxes also contained no food, water or blankets, and were being battered on all sides by strong winds and rain. 

Luckily for the siblings, our Animal Welfare Officers spotted the abandoned boxes as soon as they arrived at work, and brought them straight inside.

Zoe Edwards, Head of Animal Welfare, carefully cut through the tape on each box and freed both cats, before doing a full health assessment on each of them. 

Thankfully, apart from being a bit hot and bothered, neither Wotsit nor Pringles showed any signs of being injured – and so we settled them down in a warm and cosy cabin in our Cattery to help them recover from their ordeal. 

They are just two of the animals to have been abandoned near our shelter so far this year alone, and as none of them were microchipped, we have no way of knowing where they originally came from or why they were given up. 

Happily, both Wotsit and Pringle were rehomed shortly after they recovered, and are now finally enjoying their new lives with two new loving owners.

Since then, we have had to wind down a large majority of our operations due to the coronavirus pandemic – but our animal welfare team are still out on the front line, rescuing animals and saving their lives every day.

It costs over £6,000 a day to run Mayhew, and we are entirely funded by public donations. We desperately need your help, now more than ever, to ensure we can continue to rescue and rehome animals just like Wotsit and Pringles – both during this ongoing pandemic and long afterwards.

We want to make sure we will always be around to give unwanted and abandoned animals a brand new start in life, and so if you’re able to, please donate £5 today.

Your donation will make a huge difference to those in need, and will enable us to care for, support and treat animals and their owners during this crisis.