Meet Mickie – the cat who stole our heart when we stepped in to lend a hand!

Lockdown has undoubtedly been a rollercoaster for the majority of us, and that doesn’t exclude our pets – including ten-year-old Mickie, whose world was somewhat turned upside down recently.

After living a quiet, happy life with his elderly owner, Mickie sadly found himself all alone when his owner suddenly passed away, leaving him in the house they’d shared.

• During one of his daily searches of the local area for food, Mickie ended up sustaining a nasty injury to his front paw, which quickly became infected.
• After a few weeks, his old neighbours spotted him in their garden, where he was lying down in obvious distress – his paw was extremely swollen, and he was evidently having trouble walking.
• The neighbour called Mayhew immediately, and one of our Animal Welfare Officers, Tania Mazzoni, headed out to safely contain Mickie and bring him into our Community Vet Clinic for emergency treatment.

Tania learned from the neighbour that Mickie’s elderly owner had a grandson, who had been worried about Mickie after visiting the house and not being able to find him. We were able to get in touch with him straight away and reassure him that his grandmothers’ beloved cat was in safe hands; and because he was not in a position to take Mickie on himself, he gladly signed the black and white feline over to us.

Dr Emily Richardson, Mayhew’s Vet, took a thorough look at Mickie’s leg wound and guessed that from the shape and severity, the abscess was likely caused by a cat or rat bite. Dr Richardson gently cleaned the site and prescribed a long lasting antibiotic and some pain relief medication, before settling Mickie down in our Hospital Ward to relax and recover.

Because Mickie’s leg was so swollen, we checked it every few hours throughout the day and night, making sure that Mickie was not licking or irritating it. As Mickie settled and the pain relief kicked in, he came out of his shell a bit and seemed more relaxed around us, though he still avoided putting his weight on the injured paw. His appetite seemed normal, and although the abscess continued to bleed on and off, the swelling slowly went down and the wound began to clot.

After a few days, we were able to move Mickie to a double cabin in our Cattery, to give him some more space to walk around and get used to being mobile again as his leg continued to heal. His appetite started to come and go, so we kept a close eye on him and put a buster collar on, in case he was scratching or licking the wound and spreading the infection.

Luckily, after a few more days Mickie seemed brighter, and his leg continued to improve. His up and down moods could have been the result of worry or stress over his changing circumstances, and so we continued to show him some extra TLC and gave him time to get used to his new surroundings.

When the abscess was almost fully healed, we decided to place Mickie with a foster carer, in order to return him to a comfortable home environment and get him used to the transition ahead, when he will be placed up for adoption. Although we neutered him, we also discovered that Mickie needs some non-emergency dental work doing, which will have to wait until lockdown restrictions lift to be carried out.

Thankfully, Mickie is settling in really well with his foster family, and his leg is now completely back to normal. They are more than happy to look after him until we can administer his dental treatment and list him for rehoming, and said that he is becoming braver and friendlier every day.

Whilst Mickie’s story is far from over, we are confident that he will eventually find his very own happy ending, despite his recent injuries and upheavals. To find out more about which animals are available for adoption right now, please check our website here.

If you are or know of a pet owner, please ensure you have an emergency care plan in place should you fall ill with coronavirus or need extra support looking after your animal.