An extraordinary Cat is Pickles

Pickles is a 6 year old Tabby cat,just like any other tabby you might think.

But Pickles or Pip a we call her is a lucky little girl.I was asked to do a rescue from a cat hoarder.This person had been taken into care and the house was over run with cats and kittens.I had a key but had a police escort just to make sure all was above board.On approaching the house the smell was unbearable,so bad in fact that the police came no further than the front porch.I wangled the key and when i opened the door..well to put it mildly it was horrid.The house was in complete darkness,it stank and this being mid summer made it even worse.The police went about their day glad i am sure to be rid of it all.I could see and sense movement everywhere,the power was off so i fumbled around putting food out and water..trying to spot any cats.They came out very shyly and began to eat.There were adults and kittens and it broke my heart.I did a quick scan around and tried to work out how many..it appeared to be about 20 or so.I left and went home to work out what steps were next.

After a lot of calls between myself ,the shelter i was a foster carer for ,and the persons not to interested daughter ,it was decided to try and catch them for rehoming to a safer enviroment,this was no easy task as a well known shelter was no help and the shelter i volunteered at was at absolute capacity..day after day i went down trying to get the cats used to me and slowly through feeding them and providing trays of litter and bowls of water,they started to show themselves..there were even more than i had thought.We set about catching them,my husband and i,it was a nightmare,some cats and kittens were easy but some had gone feral..they climbed curtains and threw themselves around.We took some out to this well known shelter and i got into a huge fight with the staff in their very nice luxurious office as they were trying to refuse taking them,i pointed out the money they received and the funds available to them versus the small shelter i was from..they ceded and took them.It was on a day i had come back to feed the remaining cats ,i had my son with me and we heard a faint meow..we looked around and couldn’t see anything..then we noticed a large table,it had been turned on it’s side and the top was against a wall..my son looked behind and there squashed between the table and wall was a tiny kitten..we pulled the table out and i picked up this little waif..i popped her on the floor and her back legs splayed out..she couldn’t move…well i lost it, i picked her up and my son held her in his arms as we left.When we got outside she looked almost blinded by the light..she had been born and growing in darkness.I took her to my vet,her skull was misshapen and out of alignment..the vet checked her and said she was badly dehydrated and gave her fluids she was a bit swollen around the neck because of the fluid but he assured me this would pass..he checked her legs and said she had been trapped for a while so it may just be temporary …i hoped so..I took her home,i rang my husband and he said “she stays” and i was so glad..we already had 5 cats but how could i resist her.I called her Pickles..due to the pickle she was in when we found her.She came along just fine her legs became wobbly but she was walking.I took her for a check up a bit later the next week and the vet was very pleased with her progress,she had gained some weight,her legs were fine but i noticed she had one eye slightly half closed,the vet checked and said due to her skull being crushed she may have a little damage to a nerve and that she also may get sinus problems…well she just kept improving,only now and then will she get the occasional wink and her sinuses have never been issue.Pickles became a member of our family,she was desexed and had her shots and is much loved by us all.Sadly the daughter of this person opened the door before we could get down with more cages and let all the cats and kittens out..making a big problem even bigger.I like to think we made a difference,at least to the ones we got out,and i know that Pickles has made a difference in our lives.She has never grown to the full average sized cat,perhaps lack of nourishment in her mother ,who knows ,but i adore my little Bonsai sized Tabby.Indeed Pickles is an extraordinary cat.

• cats
• felines
• fostering
• rescues