SimplyCats Vet Clinic Blog

Grub stayed at my house from a Friday to Monday to give Claire a break. Now I need a break!! Its very hard work looking after a kitten that is so reliant on you for its every need – from feeding and toileting to affection and play. Setting the alarm for midnight, then 3am then 6am for three hourly feeds and toileting takes its toll on you physically. Its not easy, but its so rewarding to see him thrive.

My son Calum, who’s only seven, loves him to bits and Grub likes to curl up in the crook of his arm and go to sleep. Our other three cats were not so keen on the tiny visitor though, and kept their presence in the room to a minimum. It takes me back to seven years ago when I was up every four hours to see to Calum’s needs. If I remember correctly, Calum was just as greedy as Grub with his bottle!

Caroline

On Tuesday 13th October, Grub the kitten opened his eyes. He’s still doing well, eating like a horse. Margaret our receptionist is going to take him for me overnight tonight so I can have a night’s sleep as he’s currently feeding every 2 hours and I’m shattered, so I’m have a (well earned) night off tonight

Claire

I am delighted to report that little Pierre (our mystery kitten) is going from strength to strength and growing more mischievous and adventurous by the day. He continues to chase our other two cats Mouse and Cobweb from one end of the garden to the next and then sprints up a tree to peer out like a little vexed gremlin. The plan was for him to have an external fixator applied to his poorly leg with the intention of fusing his knee joint however after recent consultations with the vet, a decision has been made to defer the procedure to see how he progresses so fingers crossed he gets more control and strength in his hind leg. He is being fed on fish and chicken, but not just any chicken, it has to be Marks and Spencer chicken. He has been bought a selection of kitten toys from various family members who all want to spoil him but my husband refuses to allow him to wear a powder blue collar with white hearts on it – why ever not?

Just a quick update on harriet, the rescued amputee hedgehog – She has been on a regular round of the garden, hoovering up the slugs, much to my delight. I have had to sit in the summerhouse for over an hour after dark to watch her. My husband is looking to install an infra-red camera somewhere in the garden to capture more of her movements as she usually refuses to venture out in the prescence of humans and before nightfall. The photo below is where she is usually hiding

Caroline

The first thing my husband (Pierre Senior) said to me when I joined the Simplycats team was “no kittens”.

Despite his protests and less than 2 weeks into my new job, we  now find ourselves surrogate parents to Pierre Junior. Suffice it to say we have  fallen for his charms and are both smitten kittens.

After a shakey start he is coming on leaps and bounds, putting on weight and doing all the things kittens should be doing. This includes running up the inside of trouser legs (ouch) and leaping from heights with reckless abandon despite the injury to his hind leg which was weakened by the abcess.

He’s such a brave little thing and stalks our other two long suffering cats leaping on them when they least expect it. He has simply taken over and we are loving having a kitten in the house again.

He has been through such a lot in his short life and we are eternally grateful to Sarah and Paul for giving him that second chance.

Margaret

On Friday 9th July, the RSPCA handed in a small 7 week old kitten with a suspected broken hind leg, we admitted the kitten and x-rayed his leg, thankfully his leg wasn’t fractured and he has an abcess on the leg, we aren’t entirely sure how or why he has an abscess on this leg as there are no wounds . 

He came in collapsed and hypothermic and thanks to some medication and TLC he’s starting to recover, he spent Friday night with Claire for close monitoring and observating and then he spent the weekend at home with our receptionist Margaret and her husband Peter.

We have named the kitten ‘Pierre’ as you can see from the photos he has a little black mark across his nose and we think it looks like a little french moustache and Margarets husband Peter (who also has a moustache) fell in love with him, so he got nicknamed Pierre.

He had a tough weekend but is now picking up as you can see from these photos he’s been spoilt rotten and looks a lot better!

Click here for an online gallery of Pierre

Claire York RVN