One of our supporters had been trapping ferals in Iver and asked Beverley if CLAWS would take one and she said "Yes”.

It is a black and white male, very bedraggled and very scared.  He had been sleeping on an old mattress in a lady’s garden and she had been feeding him.  His coat had become very matted and somewhere along the line great patches of it had been shaved off so  he looks very scruffy.

We called him BEN.

We put him in a small room upstairs where he immediately found the highest place (on top of the kitten cage which had been put on the storage unit.)  From this vantage point he viewed his new surroundings.  Beverley had already put water, litter and an igloo down and now added a bowl of food and then left him to settle in.

Ben was able to see the comings and goings up and down the lane and gradually he began to relax.

He was fed in his lofty abode but came down when all was quiet to have a drink and use his litter tray.

Beverley approached him very slowly and held her hand out - no response.  Then a day came when he stretched forward and sniffed her hand ! He got braver and let her stroke him under his chin, still remaining on the top of the kitten cage. 

Then one never to be forgotten day he rolled over on his back and let her tickle his tummy !

It is another case of mistaken identity :  he is not a feral but yet another abandoned domestic.   We are hoping that with time, patience and lots of love he will be ready to go to a new, loving home.

We became worried when Ben stopped eating and began to lose weight.

We took him to the vet – no wonder he had stopped eating !   He had a large ulcer on the tip of his tongue.

Antibiotics, pain relief and an esophogeal tube inserted in his neck (he didn’t think much of that !) allowing him to be fed whilst bypassing his mouth and he was soon on the road to recovery.  It wasn’t long before he was eating soft solid food (fish !!)

The vet gave him a clean bill of and he is now back to his old self.

Unfortunately it wasn’t long before he developed diahorrea with blood in it.  Off to the vet again.  He was prescribed a course of Panacur which is a broad spectrum antibiotic for the treatment of cats infected with roundworms, tapeworm or lungworm.   This had to be repeated twice more.

He was also tested for giardia which is contracted by contact with contaminated food, water or soil.  The result of this is awaited.

The treatment has to be repeated three times at two weekly intervals after which hopefully Ben will signed off and be able to join the other residents in the new enclosure,