A five-month-old kitten who was extremely frightened, smelly, scruffy, and skinny when Mayhew's animal welfare officers found her living in a pile of rubbish, has now found her forever home.
Phoebe was found not too far from Mayhew in North West London, and had obviously been struggling, as she was smelly, scruffy, skinny, and severely dehydrated. Luckily, she allowed the animal welfare officers to get close enough to collect her, and she was brought straight back to Mayhew, along with eight other strays found in the same area.
All nine felines were quickly checked into the vet clinic for a full health examination, although Phoebe was by far the one suffering the most. After making sure there were no immediate medical concerns beyond her hunger and thirst, Phoebe was bathed and settled into the Cattery to rest and recover.
Mayhew's Cattery staff spent the next few weeks ensuring Phoebe and her friends were well fed and watered, and implemented a socialisation programme to get them used to human company. Stray cats can usually be domesticated with the right kind of care and attention, as opposed to feral cats who are happier and healthier living in outdoor colonies of their kind.
Phoebe proved herself to be an extremely resilient kitten, quickly coming around to her new environment. Although she started off very nervous and twitchy, she soon started to enjoy playtime and was very happy to be picked up and stroked.
When she was back up to a healthy weight she was neutered, microchipped, vaccinated, and given flea and worming treatment, before being placed up for adoption.
Phoebe has now found a brand new home with a loving family, who will continue her socialisation programme and ensure that her life is as far away from a smelly rubbish dump as possible.
The eight cats who were admitted at the same time as Phoebe have also been adopted, and are very much enjoying their life off the streets.
Please visit the Mayhew website here to find out how you can become a Feral AdvoCAT, and as always, if you have concerns about the health or welfare of any cat then please get in touch with the animal welfare officers by emailing [email protected].
