Carmen's family

Tiny babies

A few day ago Carmen arrived at the centre with her newly born babies. She has five gorgeous kittens who are less than a week old. The whole family are doing really well and seem content. 

We captured these lovely images of them yesterday. We haven't yet examined the kittens to find out what sex they are. We are trying not to handle them at this stage as they are so tiny and vulnerable.

Once the kittens reach two weeks old we can start to socialise them. We will start to handle them gently and introduce them to new experiences.

We will keep you updated on how this adorable family progresses over the coming weeks.

Walrus and Runty

Two lovely boys

Recently we had two cats brought in called Walrus and Runty. When they first arrived nothing obvious was wrong with them. They went to the vets for blood testing, neutering a micro-chipping. It wasn't until after they were neutered that we began to notice that Walrus wasn't eating, his gums looked pale and his breathing was laboured.

Walrus was sent to the vets straight away for testing and the results came back that he had FIA. A few days later Walrus looked worse and Runty was starting to look ill as well. They were both sent to the vets and stayed their overnight for a few days. They were monitoring, given medication and were put on a drip.

Both cats turned out to have the disease. Walrus and Runty are now back with us at the centre and are on medication. We are so pleased to say that the boys are looking so much better. They are eating well, have more energy and are so much happier.

What is (FIA) Feline Infectious Anaemia?

Feline infectious anaemia, also known as FIA, is an anaemia in cats that is caused by a parasite that lives in the blood. If your cat is unwell and pale, it may be that it is anaemic, but there are many different causes of anaemia in cats and FIA is just one of these. Early recognition and treatment of FIA is important to maximise the chances of full recovery.

What causes it?

FIA typically refers to anaemia caused by the parasites called 'haemoplasmas'. Haemoplasmas are bacteria that live on the surface of red blood cells. Several different haemoplasma species infect cats. Mycoplasma haemofelis (also called the large strain) is the most important haemoplasma as it causes the most severe anaemia in cats. Other haemoplasma species tend to cause less disease in cats: 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' (also called the small strain) and 'Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis'. When the red blood cell is infected with the haemoplasma parasite it does not survive long in the circulation. The parasite can cause damage to the membrane surrounding the red cell causing the cell to rupture. Affected blood cells may also be destroyed by the body and, as numbers of circulating red blood cells drop, anaemia develops.

How is the disease spread?

The natural method of haemoplasma transmission has not yet been proven. Fleas are thought to be able to spread infection, so flea bites may transmit infection. Infected blood transfusions have also been found to spread infection.It is known that male cats are more likely to be affected than females which may be the result of their lifestyle and increased risk of fighting. Very young kittens can be infected from contact with their infected mother.

Cats may be more at risk of getting anaemia due to haemoplasma infection if their immune response is reduced. This can occur in cats that are ill with other diseases or cancer. Some drugs (eg treatments for cancer) and infections like FeLV (Feline Leukaemia Virus) and FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) also suppress the immune response and can put cats more at risk from infectious anaemia.

What are the clinical signs?

Cats are very good at hiding signs of illness, especially anaemia, so it is possible that you won't recognise signs of anaemia in your cat until the anaemia is very severe. Cats with anaemia are generally depressed, lethargic and their appetite may be reduced. The membranes inside their mouth and eyes may appear paler than normal, or sometimes these membranes and the eyes take on a yellowish tinge due to jaundice (as a result of excessive red cell breakdown). Severely affected cats may have breathing problems and become breathless even after minimal exercise. Cats with infectious anaemia often have a high temperature too, and they often become quite markedly dehydrated as they stop eating and drinking.

Coffee Morning

Bembridge Village Hall

We invite you to come along to a coffee morning at Bembridge Village Hall on Friday 23rd March.

There will be refreshments, a raffle, merchandise on sale and information about our centre and about adopting a cat from us.
We will be there from 9am - 12pm

Louie and Morgan

Homing Appeal

  
Please come up to the adoption centre to meet this charming duo very soon! Ask to meet them in our meet and greet room where they love to sit on laps. We are open everyday from 11am - 3pm.

Homing Update

The lucky and the not so lucky

Gorgeous boy Gypsy now called Vinnie was successfully re-homed. Well done lad! The recent photos sent in of him in his new home are lovely. He is one of the lucky ones, his good looks and charms were on his side. However we still have many cats who have been waiting so much longer to find new homes, please can you help them?

Tosca, Rupert, Captain & Poppy and Doreen are all still waiting to find their new homes.  All of these cats have been mentioned on the blog. Tosca had a severe flea allergy which has now cleared up. Rupert has been here for months which is so sad, he is such an affectionate cat. Captain and Poppy were abandoned at our gates, they were made residents but sadly it didn't work out. Captain has been poorly with a cold but is on the mend. Doreen has a prolapsed rectum when she arrived. She has been reserved twice but sadly both times the people could not obtain a tenancy letter.

The centre is open for visitors everyday from 11am - 3pm. If you are looking for a young, friendly cat then Tosca or Doreen would be perfect. If its a pair of gentle cats then Captain and Poppy are the ones. Or if a handsome, pampering loving boy is what you want look no further than Rupert! Please help their wishes come true, to be part of family and to feel loved again.

Delboy

Jack the lad!

Delboy came into the adoption centre a few weeks ago as a stray. He was living in a lady's back garden in East Cowes. We gave her a humane trap to try and catch him as Delboy was scaring the cat she already had. 

For weeks and weeks Delboy outsmarted the trap and managed to break free from it a couple of times. Eventually one afternoon we got the call to say that he had finally been caught. We he first arrived here he was fairly shy and his ears were tatty and wounded. After a dose of antibiotics the wounds on his ears healed.

Now that he has been with us a while he has settled in brilliantly. He is such a chunky jack the lad because Delboy wasn't neutered when he came to Cats Protection! Delboy has now been neutered, blood tested, vaccinated and micro-chipped.

Delboy loves to be made a fuss off and is a real softie. He is so funny he makes this really adorable chirping sound when he is hungry! He has such a handsome face and gorgeous white bib and whiskers. Who wouldn't fall for his charms? Please come along to the centre to meet him soon.

Tia's family

Three very cute kitty's!

Tia's trio are now almost seven weeks old, wow! We captured this adorable image of mum and kittens a few days ago. 

The kittens are growing up so fast. They are now fully mobile and love to play with their toys. They haven't quite got the hang of going out of the cat flap yet but they will in time. They are now starting to eat solid food and they are spending less time with mum. 

Last Sunday we weighed the kittens and gave them a Milbemax worming tablet. Milbemax is a multi-wormer and we de-worm all of our kittens before they go to new homes. The kittens are also a good healthy weight and have had their first health check by our vet Fiona. In a few weeks time they will be ready to go to new homes.

Miffy

A cute little kitty!

Followers of the blog will remember the story of Blue. The young black male kitten found in a garden in Brading. About a month ago Miffy arrived at the centre. She was brought in by the people who found Blue. They had managed to catch Miffy in the humane trap they had put in their back garden. 

Miffy could well be one of Blue's siblings. We think she is around 16 weeks old and when she first arrived she was such a timid puss. As she was also older than Blue when she came into us this makes harder to socialise her. 

Over the last week Miffy (top right photo) has formed an affection for Penny (bottom right photo) who is older than her but is the same size as her. Penny is in the pen next door to Miffy. Penny is one of Queenie's kittens and she has been very poorly with IBS. Miffy loves to watch Penny play and purrs and runs up to the glass when she sees her. Miffy now lets us stroke her and she is beginning to play with toys. The progress we have seen with her is remarkable. We are hoping that we will be allowed to introduce Penny and Miffy together. This will hopefully make Miffy much more sociable and will help her to find a home more quickly. In return this will also give Penny a play mate.

So watch out for this space! We will let you know what happens next.

Beauty

Riddled with fleas!

A few weeks ago we had a 19 year old cat brought into the centre called Beauty. It was a very sad story her owner was too ill to keep her. 

For a 19 year old Beauty is still full of life but she was also full of fleas when she first arrived. We have never seen anything like it. We treated her for fleas the day she came in and combed what seemed like hundreds of fleas from her coat. The following day we combed her again and over 50 dead fleas came off of her.

 
She is now flea free and feels so much better for it. This really goes to show how important it is to have your cat treated for fleas regularly. We have however found a use for the dead fleas. We have kept them in a pot ready to take to schools talks and assembly's!

Penny

Our little fighter

Regular followers of the blog may remember Queenie and her five gorgeous babies. They were born on 28th September 2011. 

Queenie was a marvellous mum and all five babies were doing really well. It wasn't until they reached the age of six weeks that we noticed lots of drips of diarrhoea in their house. It was very hard to tell who was the culprit. 

After a few more weeks it became obvious that one of the black females was a lot smaller than the others. She still seemed happy and bonny and for a while we thought she was the 'runt' of the litter. 

Soon all of her brothers, sisters and her mum went to new homes. We nicknamed her 'little squirt'. For weeks and weeks she cried, yelped and continued to constantly drip diarrhoea. It was very distressing for her and for us. The vets were puzzled by her and we felt helpless to help her. She went through several diet changes and was prescribed different medications. We have now named her Penny.

To try and diagnose the problem Penny has several blood tests, x-rays, scans, we also sent off faeces samples to be tested for various diseases. For a while the outlook looked very bleak, but throughout Penny surprised us all and she is still going strong. The poor girl even had a rectal prolapse that has to be stitched back in! Her toileting is much improved and her prolapse has corrected itself. The vets belief that she has got IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). 

Penny is now on a diet of Purina CN Convalescence cat food. It is used to feed pets suffering from Anorexia, Malnutrition and Multi System Trauma Nutritional Distress, through Lactation and Pre- and Post-surgery periods. All the ingredients in Purina Veterinary Diets CN are highly digestible and as a result it is suitable for use in kittens during periods of critical care. Purina CN Convalescence provides a high amount of energy as part of a concentrated formula.

Penny seems to enjoy her new food and has been gradually putting on weight. She now weighs 1.4kg. For a kitten of her age she should weigh at least 2-2.5kg. We are happy though that finally her weight is increasing. Penny seems none the worse for it, she is such a happy, lively girl. She has so much energy and loves to play. She is still on medication once a day, an anti-biotic and a steroid. We are unsure how long she will have to be on medication. She may well have to have something for the rest of her life. We are really hoping that little Penny will be well enough to be re-homed soon. 

We will keep you all updated on how Penny is doing. She is our brave little star and we all love her dearly. What she has been and fought through is truly phenomenal. What an amazing little cat she is.

Hugo

Old leg injury

Recently we had a gorgeous cat brought in called Hugo. When Hugo came in the staff did a health check and noticed that his back left leg was causing him some discomfort. 

He was seen by the Fiona our vet later that week and was sent to the vets for an x-ray. The x-ray showed that Hugo has in the past had an operation to remove the femoral head part of the joint on that leg. As a result of this what's left of the femur has started to corrode against his hip joint.

Hugo is now on a maintenance dose of Metacam, a pain relief medication for the time being. He can walk quite happily but with a limp. We are unsure yet on what the next step will be, so we will keep you updated on what happens next. But for now Hugo is getting lots of TLC and seems quite content.

Tia's family

Now five weeks old!

Wow how the time had flown, the kittens are now five weeks old! They have started to explore their new world. The kittens have been practising going to toilet in a litter tray, showing interest in kitten food and venturing out of the comfort of their cosy bed to explore. Soon they will be eating on their own, spending less time with mum and investigating their outside run. 

We have been socialising the kittens since they were two weeks old. Soon they will learn how to play with different toys and they will gradually gain more confidence. Mum Tia has been doing a fantastic job and all three babies are happy and healthy. 

It is so wonderful to see this little family blossom and grow up. Such precious moments and you really begin to appreciate how much effort is involved for mum. They must be such a handful for her! But despite all that you can clearly see her devotion and its beautiful. 

Tiddles

Helping out with the recycling

Tiddles fan will be pleased to know that he is definately feeling better. He is back to his naughty, cheeky ways! He has been getting under everyone's feet, quite literally and taking the occasional nip at our ankles! 

Today we found him in amongst our recycling in our kitchen. He loves to sit in boxes and whenever we put on down somewhere he almost always goes and sits in it. He also has a funny habit of getting into cat carriers in reception. Usually when people have come to pick up their cat he sneaks into the carriers, Tiddles loves to get his nose into everything. 

We will keep you all updated on his latest antics. 

Animals reunite

Reuniting lost pets with their owners

When a pet goes missing it is a very worrying time. There are many things you can do to help find your pet. The internet is also becoming a very useful tool to advertise lost pets and to reunite them with their owners.

Recently a new website and facebook group called 'Animals reunite' has been set up to help reunite lost pets with their owners. This website is just for lost pets on the Island. Wightbay is another Island website where you can post an ad up about your lost pets.

If your pet goes missing the best thing to do it to advertise it as much as possible. You can do this by using websites like these, you can also make flyers and poster to put up in your local area. Contacting the vets, RSPCA, other animal charities as well as us here at Cats Protection. Let as many people that you can think off know that your pet is missing.

We wish you all good luck in finding your lost pets. Don't give up hope, miracles can happen.

Valentine's Day

Find love this Valentine's Day!

We have so many cats here at the centre that could be the purr-fect match for you. So please come along and meet them. We are open daily from 11am-3pm. Our address in 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde.

Rupert is looking for love this Valentine's Day. He has been here with us since October last year. He is such an affectionate, loving gent. His wish is to be in a home very soon, he wants to feel loved, safe and secure. Rupert is the kind of cat who will be a purr-fect companion. He adores being brushed and loves to be pampered. He has regal good looks to match as well, how could you resist his charms?

See Rupert in action by watching the video below.

Gypsy boy!

His blood test results

On Wednesday gorgeous boy Gypsy went to the vets to be neutered, micro-chipped and blood tested for aids and leukaemia. The good news is the test was negative for leukaemia but he tested positive for aids (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus).

This prognosis however is not the end of the world. Gypsy will be happily homed with this condition and should live a long and happy life. He will unfortunately have to be an indoor cat for the rest of his life. This is to stop him infected other cats with the virus. 

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) is a virus similar to the human HIV virus. However, FIV does not infect humans and HIV does not infect cats. The virus is present in blood, saliva and other body fluids of the infected cat. The virus is unstable outside the cat's body and cannot survive for long periods outside of the cat. It is transmitted by cats fighting and can be passed on from an infected female to her kittens. Gypsy more than likely contracted the virus through fighting with other cats as he was un-neutered. One of the many very good reasons to get your cat neutered.  For more information about Feline Immunodeficiency Virus please visit our website. 

Come and visit Gypsy soon his charms are sure to win you over! He will be ready to re-home very shortly. 

Doreen

Well enough to find a home

You may remember Doreen from a blog post a few weeks ago. The poor girl had a prolapsed rectum. The photo we took was not for the faint-hearted! We are so happy to say that she seems to have made a full recovery. 

Doreen did have a few complications. She had to be rushed to the vets a few days after her first stitch because unfortunately she had prolapsed again. After her second re-stitch all seems well. Last Monday was the day her stitch was due to come out. To our surprise the stitch was no where to be found so Doreen had probably removed it herself! Since then she has been toileting regularly and she has had no problems. 

She has been moved into the homing block this week. She seems very happy and content. She is such a gorgeous, loving girl. She will make a lovely new family member for someone. So please come and meet her soon.  

Tiddles

Feeling much better

Our resident cat Tiddles was recently diagnosed with a mega-colon. Since then he has been making regular trips to the vets, having lots of medication and TLC. We also been giving him a special diet of Applaws chicken with pumpkin. 

Today he went to the vets for an x-ray and we are happy to say that nothing abnormal was found. Tiddles seems to be much happier and more comfortable. He is back to his normal mischievous self, getting underneath people feet and nipping at our heels!

We would greatly appreciate it If anyone could please donate some more of his special diet food . He has enjoyed it so much that we have none left! We will continue to keep you all updated on how he is doing. 

Meoowws, purrrs and cuddles, love from Tiddles!  =^.^=