Spooky cat needs your help

16 year old Spiff (now called Spooky) came to us at the beginning of January in a very poor state with very matted fur, very withdrawn but very happy to have head rubs so we knew she’d been a much loved cat. We were told she’d been spayed and had been seen for a health check recently. She had come from an elderly couple unable to look after her. Spooky is a black female with one white whisker and a little white blob on her chest, her fur is medium length but silky soft. She didn’t seem to suit the name Spiff so her new temporary name is Spooky.

We took her for a full dematt and a health check to our trusted vets. We were told on pick-up that her teeth were pretty good, just a bit of tartar that had been removed and that we’d have to keep an eye on them for the future. So poor half bald Spooky came home and all seemed well, she was eating well and had become very affectionate, loving jumping on laps for a fuss, a darling cat that just might be rehomable for someone who loved older softies who just lapped up affection. We were waiting for her coat to grow back.

Then suddenly she stopped eating, was sick a couple of times with blood in it so this meant an emergency trip to the vets thinking this was a tooth problem. The vet we saw looked at her notes and saw that we should have been told that she had a bad teeth at the back and should have been booked in for a dental on those. A junior vet nurse had failed to tell us this. Fortunately the vet gave her a more thorough examination and realised there were some strange lumps around her uterus and took her to a very experienced vet for a second opinion. They were mystified as the digestive tract was clear but decided something was seriously wrong and she needed an emergency operation. They kept her at the surgery and performed this over the weekend.

We realised she must have been in a lot of pain when she was being touched - hence the occasional spit from her when picked up. We were expecting to be told there was a cancerous growth but were totally shocked to find this poor old lady had never been spayed, was actually pregnant but the embryos had never had the chance to develop and had in fact mummified. They found the uterus full of toxic fluid and Spooky probably wouldn’t have survived much longer.

She’s had a major hysterectomy operation and is now coming back to her foster mum but with a bill near £2000 (including a charity discount) for Feline Network to find! On top of that, once she’s well enough she’ll have to go back for a major dental in a month’s time.

So please dig deep as this dear sweet girl deserves a good chance to get well and bring someone happiness in the future. Thank you!