Bugsy - My Beautiful, Blue-Eyed Rescue Cat

Hi there, my name is Ruth. I am raising funds for my beautiful rescue cat, Bugsy.

Bugsy is currently in a veterinary hospital, twenty miles away, and receiving urgently needed, life-saving treatment.

Bugsy went missing around 10th November 2024. After nearly a week of being gone, I was starting to become very concerned. I put out messages to friends, and one friend helped to spread the word further by putting a message out on Facebook. There was a possible early sighting of him and a few false starts, but they were soon dismissed as the days went on. By day ten, I was convinced that Bugsy was no longer alive. Then, out of the blue, on Friday 22nd November, in the afternoon, my brother and I discovered him under the fir tree at the top of our old garden. We were both convinced that he was dead as he didn't respond to our calls, but as I got nearer to him and touched him, he raised his head weakly. I bundled him up into my arms and cuddled him as I was so grateful that he was alive and somehow miraculously had made it home to our old garden. It was clear that it had taken all his strength to get back there, because he was extremely weak and in a lot of pain. I was so very very grateful to have found him, because both my brother and I didn't think he would have survived the night out in the impending storm.

I brought Bugsy down to the new house and laid him on a warm blanket near the fire. I had planned to take him to the vets the next day as severe storm winds were brewing and I didn't want to be out after dark, driving in such conditions. I also didn't want to put him through any more immediate trauma of being shipped in a kitty basket in a car to the vets. However, later that evening, I became increasingly concerned about Bugsy's breathing, so I rang the emergency overnight vets, who said to bring him in straight away. When we arrived, it was quickly determined that Bugsy was extremely dehydrated and in a lot of pain due to injury to one of his back legs. The vet immediately put him on fluids and painkillers.

Bugsy made it through the night and is responding to treatment. Most of his blood checks were encouraging, but his white blood count was very low, and he had a very high temperature. He is also now on antibiotics to fight the temperature and any possible infection. The temperature is now coming down, fortunately and the next step will be an x-ray to determine the nature of the injury to his back leg. I am also very worried for him, because he is so wary of people, so I am hoping to be able to go and visit him later on this evening and give him some love and cuddles and let him know that he is not forgotten!

This is really important to me because Bugsy is the most beautiful, gentle giant, who has had an extremely tough life and deserves to spend the rest of his days surrounded with love, comfort, affection and food, without worrying about where the next meal will come from, or fear of being attacked. Please read on to find out why ...

Bugsy first appeared in mine and my dad's life about three years ago as a stray. At first, he wouldn't come anywhere near me and always ran off if I spoke to him or walked towards him. What Bugsy did seem to like, was my two former cats, Jess and Smudge, both of whom have now passed away. He liked hanging around with them. After a while, although I didn't really want to, I couldn't help myself and began offering him the odd few biscuits. I used to get frustrated at him, because sometimes he would get into the house and spray everywhere. Other times, he would get in through an open window and steal food. We had heard on Facebook that Bugsy had developed a bit of a bad reputation around the village, but no one seemed to know who he belonged to. That didn't sit well with me. I am my mother's daughter, and like her, I will always do what I can to help an animal in need, so I carried on keeping an eye out for him and feeding him whenever he asked for it.

Somehow, after a period of time, Bugsy gradually started to come up to the back door to have proper meals and his demeanour began to change. He was slowly beginning to trust me and my dad, but he wouldn't go anywhere near anyone else. He preferred to keep his distance until they were no longer around. After Jess and Smudge passed away, it was some time before I got myself a couple of new kittens. But in late November of 2022, Bumble and Fern, two new beautiful ginger kittens made their entrance into our lives. Fast forward, four months or so, and unbeknown to me, Fern managed to get herself in trouble with Bugsy before I could get her spayed. She produced six stunning kittens on the morning of the King's Coronation in May 2023. Not the way I had planned to be spending that morning, I must say! I remember, a few hours after all six gorgeous kittens were delivered and safely tucked up with Mum (Fern) and Bonnie, my black labrador - Fern insisted they should be born in Bonnie's bed and remain there. Bumble, Fern's sister, later tried to steal one of the kittens. To all intents and purposes, it looked like Bumble was extremely jealous of her sister and wanted one of her own.

Eventually Bumble and Fern were both successfully spayed, and Bugsy was starting to feel brave enough to come indoors officially, under my watchful eye to ensure that he didn't do anything he wasn't meant to.

Again, roll forward a number of months and Bugsy was now regularly eating in the kitchen alongside his two girlfriends and two of his offspring (Tenzy and Tiddlywink), whom I decided to keep. The other four kittens found fantastic homes! Bugsy always preferred to have his meals near the door, preferably with the door open so that he had an escape route if he felt unsafe. He never poached anyone else's meals and I soon began to notice that if anyone tried to steal his meal, he would always back down graciously and let them have it. Early one morning back in the spring, I found Bugsy cowering in our garage on a dog towel on the floor. It was extremely unusual for him to be in there. He always preferred to wait by the back door for his invitation to come in. I immediately knew something was wrong and soon realised when I picked him up, that he was half-caked in mud. What ensue was a battle between me and Bugsy to get him cleaned up. In the end, the only thing I could think of doing was to put him in the shower. He hated it! But, afterwards, I think that turned another corner in our relationship, in a good way.

A mere few weeks later, once again, Bugsy made an appearance at the house in a really distressed state. One of his ears was matted and covered in blood. I wondered if he had been hit by a car, but after a round trip to a veterinary centre in Redruth, it was discovered that an abscess had burst. I had been wondering for some time about the possibility of getting him neutered, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get two things done at once. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as planned and Bugsy developed a UTI from the antibiotics. He came back with me and stayed indoors under great duress, until one morning I let him out. I prayed that he would return in time for his return to the vets for his neutering. Luckily, he did, and two weeks later, Bugsy was a new man.

After that, life started to settle down for Bugsy. His fat cheeks were starting to diminish and he was starting to fill out and look like a proper handsome cat, rather than a scrawny thin thing. Bugsy was very much enjoying the summer sunshine in our garden. He could always seek out a sunny, sheltered spot for a good snooze and he was never bothered if Tenzy started to tease him. Some nights, he also wasn't totally averse to a night in on one of the armchairs in the kitchen, although he would always insist on going out first thing in the morning just to ensure that he could, and then he would ask to come back in for breakfast. Occasionally, he would disappear for a couple of nights, but never anything longer than that, until 9th November 2024.

So, now you can see why it is so important to me to get Bugsy the treatment he deserves. When I rushed him into the emergency centre on Friday night, I was prepared for either outcome. I knew that if the vet had said that they couldn't do anything for him, I would have accepted that. But, we all agreed that he is a fighter with 'nine lives' in the truest sense of the expression. And this is why I am appealing to you for help.

All funds raised will go towards covering the costs for his hospitalisation, emergency overnight admission, essential fluids, painkillers, anti-biotics, x-ray and any further operations required. Anything you can donate, no matter how large or small, will be extremely appreciated!

I had no idea, when I started looking out for Bugsy, what joy he would bring into both mine and my dad's life. Although my dad is no longer with us, I have a photograph of him admiring the tiny kittens, in a box last year, and him marvelling at the wonder of Bugsy and Fern's creations.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

P.S. What you read below, is from two of my American students. I am a part-time tutor and all my pupils love to see my furry family during their lessons.

Hello, I'm one of Ms. Ruth's students, and, like her, I own multiple cats. One of her cats, Bugsy, a father of two other cats, has recently been found after being missing for two weeks. He is an adorable buff-colored cat who is extremely sweet, sometimes appearing in Zoom classes and being lifted to the screen to say 'Hi!' Ms. Ruth must have been so worried. When one of our cats got stuck in a tree for a night, we were all afraid and sad. I can't imagine how Ms Ruth felt for those two weeks! When he was found, Bugsy was very tired and lonely. She rushed Bugsy to the vet to see if he was all right. Unfortunately, those vet bills cost quite a lot, and Ms. Ruth is in quite a predicament. So it would make her very happy if you could donate money to her on this website. It would mean a lot to her. This beautiful, wonderful cat's life could depend on whether you can donate a few dollars.

Thank you!-Silvia Anita Visoiu

BUGSY

Blue-eyed cream father

Unique in every way

Goofy and cute

Superb father

You need to help him because he is at the Vet.

By Claudia Visoiu