Although we’ve had to put a pause on outpatient clinics this year, our vets and animal care staff are still hard at work behind the scenes; helping cats and dogs on the streets and in our shelter.
Recently we were called out to assist six-year-old Blue, a stray tabby who suddenly found herself with a sore leg.
- Blue had been watched over for a feeder for about a year when she started limping. The feeder noticed one of her front paws was swollen and sore looking, and so attempted to have a closer look.
- It quickly became obvious Blue was in a significant amount of pain, as she would not allow the feeder to go anywhere near her paw.
- Luckily for Blue, the feeder was aware of Mayhew and called us for help, and our Animal Welfare Officers went straight out to meet them.
- After doing a quick background check and ensuring Blue didn’t have an owner in the area, we carefully placed her in a carrier and brought her back to our Clinic, so our vets could do a full intake examination.
Unusually, we couldn’t see anything obviously wrong with Blue’s leg or paw – there were no visible puncture wounds or scratches or obvious broken bones, but she was suffering with a high temperature which indicated some kind of infection.
We gave Blue an xray to try and determine whether there was anything wrong internally, but that too came back clear, and so we settled her down in our hospital ward with an anti-inflammatory injection and a course of antibiotics and painkillers to see if the swelling went down.
Blue’s coat was also incredibly rough and sticky, so we de-matted her and made sure she didn’t have any fleas or worms.
In herself, Blue was quiet and friendly, and soon put her trust in our staff to look after her. Although she’d been living on the streets under the watchful eye of her feeder, it was clear she had once been domesticated, and so we looked forward to her making a full recovery so we could find her a forever family of her own.
Luckily the anti-inflammatory and antibiotic medication seemed to kick in after a few days, and by the end of the course Blue’s paw was back to its normal size and she was no longer in any pain.
The simplest and most likely explanation for her injuries is that she was bitten by another stray or feral cat – the wound site could have got infected quickly even if it was tiny, leading to her high temperature, pain and swelling.
After watching Blue play, run and jump on all four of her paws, we made sure she was neutered and vaccinated and placed her up for adoption. It wasn’t long before she found her purr-fect match, and is now happily settled in her furever home.
Please visit our website here to find out what to do if you come across a stray or feral animal, and don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Animal Welfare team if you have any concerns about their health. They can be reached on 020 8960 8000 or by emailing awo@mayhewanimalhome.org.
Please note, our procedures and opening hours are subject to change in line with government and veterinary advice.