On Saturday evening (25th October) I spotted a tiny black & white bundle on the verge down a small country lane. I shouted for my husband to stop the car, I got out and went over to find this tiny little cat, there was a large tractor approaching on her side of the road so I quickly picked her up before she was run over. It was raining, she was soaked to the skin and so, so cold. We drove home wondering how we can help this little one. We have a very bouncy 3 year old dog and a equally excitable 1 year old cat, so we knew this wasn't the best environment for her to try and recover. We know our lovely next door neighbours used to have cats and love them. So, we quickly took her round to ask if they would be willing to take her in to get her warmed up, whilst we contacted the vet.

They of course willingly stepped in to help. They put her next to the open fire which helped warm her up and dry off her bedraggled fur. I took round food for her.

We didn't think she'd make it given the state she was in, she was quite raspy when she was on my lap travelling home. Next door rang a couple of hours later to say she had picked up a lot and was eating both the wet and dry biscuit I'd taken round. She had drunk so much water, she must have been so dehydrated.

The next morning (Sunday) our neighbours rang us to say she was doing okay, she had gone to sleep in the litter tray instead of the blankets but she's been walking about that morning and was sunning herself on the windowsill.

I rang the vets, given that she was eating and drinking okay and was no longer raspy, albeit a bit snotty, they didn't think she needed to be seen as an emergency, so I instead booked her in to be seen the next morning (Monday 27th October).

I took her in to Bishops Castle Vets, she was given a thorough examination. She has cat flu and the vet found two maggots in her mouth, although she had no wounds on her anywhere. Her coat was very dirty and in a poor state. She only has two teeth (a front canine and another at the back) both of which are in a poor state. Her temperature was low. She only weighed 1.7kg. She had no microchip.

They admitted her, put her on an IV drip for fluids and antibiotics, they put her on a heat pad and surrounded her with hot water bottles to try and raise her temperature. They said they would do bloods to see if there was anything underlying and would give me a call.

They rang me to say her bloods were remarkably good considering the state she's in, she had high lymphocyte levels which ties in with her flu infection but nothing else really which was good news. They would carry out some further tests and call me again.

They then rang again to say she had tested positive for FIV (Feline immunodeficiency virus), so suggested putting her to sleep. Given that she had come this far, I didn't want to give up on her. She had pulled through enough to eat and drink (despite her lack of teeth) and her bloods were not too bad. So, I asked them to give her some more time to recover. They rang again in the afternoon to say they didn't think the IV antibiotics had made any difference but I said it had only been a few hours, so they agreed to call me at 5:30pm, which they did. Again they suggested putting her to sleep. Her temperature had gone back up to normal. So I questioned that if this had improved, along with her other improvements, then surely it's worth giving her longer to recover, as she's so far showed improvements, little by little. I asked them to leave her on the IV antibiotics and fluids and see how she does overnight. So they have agreed to call me this morning and make a decision then.

I'm not sure how much the vets bill is currently but in my heart I couldn't give up on her. From how she was when I found her, so very cold and soaked to the skin, to how she's improved. I know she's not out of the woods but she's improving bit by bit.

I've had advice from Shropshire Street Cats, FIV+ cats can live happy, healthy lives. They couldn't understand why the vets wanted to put her to sleep because she has cat flu. Unfortunately, Shropshire Street Cats are full, so currently can't take her in to continue her treatment.

As I await the phone call from the vets, I would like to ask, please, if any of you can help towards this poor little cat's vets bill and continued care? I can pay some towards the bill and our wonderful neighbours have offered to help as well but given her overnight stay with continued IV antibiotics and fluids, I fear the bill will be hundreds.

I have named her Autumn, given the time of year, so if anybody would like to help little Autumn with her recovery, I'd be so, so, so grateful.

Donations very gratefully received here through GoFundMe or directly to Bishops Castle Vets, under the patient's name 'Autumn Roberts' (SY15 6DF).

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about Autumn and her journey to recover so far. I will update any news as soon as I've spoken to the vets

Thank you x