Emergencies
It is always very unfortunate and sad when animals are brought into the clinic because they are in need of a new home. Most dogs have to be rehomed because of separation anxiety – where they cause nuisance and disturbance when left by their owners. This can include excessive barking or destroying furniture and can include behaviour resulting from a lack of dog training. Dogs, cats and other animals may also be rehomed due to a change in circumstances, such as a new job or a new baby. Sometimes living accommodation does not allow pets to be kept. If an elderly person moves into a care home, a pet is no longer suitable.
Last year, two ginger cats were brought into the clinic. We were really lucky to find such a wonderful kind-hearted lady to take them on. Here's Ruth's story about rehoming Scott and Biggles...
"When our adopted and much loved cat T.Y. had to be put down in October at age 17 we were so upset. He was a huge ginger Tom with real character. After looking after him for three years the house felt so quiet without him.
A few weeks later I saw on Twitter that two ginger cat brothers needed a new home. Scott and Biggles are ten years old and had lived with one set of owners all their lives. We were told their owners were going travelling and had been unable to find them a new home. They had arranged to have them put down! As the cats were healthy the vet refused and instead they were passed to Vet4life who tried to re-home them.
My daughter and I were going to wait for my husband to get back from work before we went to see them at Vet4life but he said “We both know you’re going to come back with them, so just go and get them and I’ll meet them when I get home.”
Scott had an abscess in his paw and a slight heart murmur and Biggles has an eye condition which means he needs to be given eye drops every day. I was slightly concerned about the cost of vet bills and slightly reticent about our ability to give eye drops to a cat, but couldn’t bear to think of them being put down. So as my husband predicted, we brought them home.
When we returned and let them out of their baskets Biggles headed straight under our bed where he settled into an empty suitcase and stayed for the rest of the day. Scott roamed around the house meowing and was very curious and affectionate.
Biggles is quite jumpy, which I suppose is to be expected after a lifetime of daily eye drops, but he is also quite measured and sensible. He is very gentle and never bites or scratches, even when he’s being given eye drops. He is ruled by his stomach and often tries to eat Scott’s food, even when Scott is eating from it so we now separate them at dinner time. A side effect of his eye medication is that he is extra hungry but I suspect that’s also his personality. Biggles loves chasing a laser beam and will jump up the wall to try and catch it. He likes curling up in cardboard boxes or being up high on a chair or sideboard, but with a full belly he comes and sits on our laps and stretches out his front legs for them to be stroked.
Scott is very confident and vocal but acts on his instincts before even thinking. He has a loud meow that sounds like he’s saying “Oh no!”. He loves to hunt so if we don’t play regularly with him and his rope mouse he gets bored and brings in birds and mice. He doesn’t go out very often but when he does he goes a long way. I’ve had to collect him from half a mile away and his collar has been returned with a note saying it was found in a street almost a mile from us. Scott seems to feel the cold a lot and he loves being wrapped up in a blanket. Sometimes I find him hugging a radiator. Scott loves stretching out having his tummy rubbed for hours at a time.
We were warned that the boys didn’t really get on and just about tolerated each other. At first they avoided each other to the extent that if one came in the room, the other went out. They fought quite a bit, with Biggles boxing Scott and Scott chasing Biggles off our laps. But slowly they started to sit on separate laps on the same sofa and now they will sit together on one lap. Biggles has recently taken to licking Scott’s head if they are lying next to each other.
We are so pleased that Scott and Biggles came to live with us; they are wonderful boys and give us so much happiness and joy. In just four months they have become much loved members of the family."
Thank you so much Ruth for providing a wonderful, happy 'Forever' Home for the two big ginger boys.
If anyone could provide a happy home to an animal in need, please get in touch - we sometimes have animals brought in to us. Alternatively, please contact Animal Rescue and Care, an animal charity in Twickenham, or Hounslow Animal Welfare - two charities local to Teddington.
