A long road ahead for Mac and Scott

Latest updates at the foot of the page!

If you're reading this page then we thank you for your interest - you're probably concerned about the welfare of these two kittens, and we'll be happy to keep you up to date with their progress. Hopefully this will also show you some of the situations we encounter at Cat's Protection.

It can be very stressful and upsetting at times, but we're glad that we were able to rescue these two before they became any worse.

We rescued Mac and Scott from a house in Salisbury over the Christmas period. They are beautiful young kittens, only twelve weeks old, and appeared to have been raised by a decent breeder - they had no worms or fleas, and their temperament is very placid and relaxed.

Since they parted with their breeder however, they have been subjected to a catalogue of abuse and injuries that were clearly inflicted over a period of weeks. It's not our job to question the motivation of people that inflict such pain on defenceless animals - we're just pleased to have them in our care and, with the vets help, hope to give them the treatment and loving environment they deserve before they finally find a new home.

When we collected Mac and Scott their wounds were inflamed and infected, and as these infections slowly calm down we have been able to discover more and more injuries and wounds.

Here are just a few:

• Almost severed tails Injuries consitent with having tight ligatures on the tip and base of their tails,
• Burns behind their ears consistent with cigarette burns
  
• They were found in a tiny cage covered in rabbit droppings.
• Their rear left legs are so badly damaged that they will have to be amputated.
• All their paws have signs of injury sustained over a period of time
• One kitten had a temperature of over 41 degrees

There are more pictures available here, but you may find them distressing.

So, this is how they were when we took them into care, and we intend to use this page to keep you informed of their progress. We will include new photos and information on a regular basis.

Please help us and donate whatever you can

We also urge you to please help us by donating whatever you can to our branch. Each Cats Protection branch has to rely on donations to continue to function and you can donate directly to our branch using your credit card by clicking the button to the right. If you prefer you may send a cheque, but please no cash!

Click here to learn how you can help Mac, Scott and other cats in the Salisbury area

Spread the word

Please also let people know about us, so that if someone gets into difficulties with a pet they may have, or you find a lost or abandoned cat, you'll know that you can contact us.

Thursday 7th February 2008

Mac and Scott continue to make progress, although we don't know if their scars will ever fur over. Scott still has phantom pains or he is anticipating being hurt but he is by far the more sensitive of the two. This doesn't prevent him from tearing around the house and garden trashing all in sight!!

We reckon the scars on their rear feet were caused by a lighter being held to their feet and the most damage was at the widest part of the flame. It's hard to believe that people can be so viciously cruel.

More photos soon!

Tuesday 22nd January 2008

As you can see from the pictures Mac and Scott are much happier. There is still some concern over Scott's tail as it is still infected.The boys can walk but need to build the muscles up on their right rear legs. They are happily tearing around quite well at the moment - it is actually better for them to lose a back rather than a front leg as their weight ratio is 60/40 in favour of the front.

Monday 14th January 2008

Scott had his tail amputated today and is recovering well. Both are racing around the house as though nothing has happened. I think it must be a relief not to be dragging a lifeless tail. All the vets are enthralled by them and reckon the other leg of each will recover with only scars left. Some of the burns went very deep so these wounds will take a while longer.

Many thanks to those who have left donations so far - we're very grateful to our supporters, and we ask that you let as many people know about us as possible, in the hope that we can prevent uneccessary suffing for cats in the Salisbury area.

Sunday 13th January 2008

Unfortunately Scott is having his tail amputated tomorrow as it is causing him pain and there is virtually no feeling in it. The problem is he has a deep wound and the very base of his tail and when he moves it hurts him. Now all the scabby fur is lifting we can see the cigarette burns etc. Mack is doing well but needs a little more surgery on his tail stump so he is in tomorrow too. We'll update the site with some pictures as soon as they are both a little more comfortable.

Thursday 10th January 2008

Both kittens have had their bad leg removed. When they were shaved the vets could see where the ligatures had been. Sadly Mack has also lost his tail as the wound at the base of his tail was in a semi circle and was so deep the nerve damage would have been permanent. Scott's tail is not so severely injured and the vets are still hopeful it can be saved. They will be sad little chaps for a while but at least they can start healing and adjusting.

Monday 7th January 2008

We are saddened to learn today that both Mac and Scott will have to have their left rear legs amputated. We were hoping that they could be saved, but the nerve damage was so severe that they will never have any feeling in their foot, so rather than subject them to even more pain and discomfort, the vet decided that removing the damaged legs will be the best way forward. Cats can usually function well on 3 legs, and as they are so young they will be able to re-learn how to walk much quicker.

We're still waiting to hear whether we can save Mac's tail, as it too was badly damaged.