Meet Edgar

[thecatneuterer]

I just felt like sharing. Admittedly he's not the prettiest of cats.

I picked him up in the street just round the corner from me two days ago. He was unneutered, starving, filthy, flea-ridden and with a mouth full of broken and rotten teeth.

He hasn't stopped eating since I took him in, despite obviously being in pain from his mouth, and has already put on a lot of weight. He is even quite a bit cleaner, again despite the problem with his mouth.

The plan is to get him neutered and to have a dental as soon as possible. Then, as I expect no one will be falling over themselves to adopt him, he will end up joining my gang. What's one more after all?

(the dirty pink stain on the sheet in the first photo was as a result of me flea combing him with a damp comb. The water in the bowl turned a very dirty, dark red).

I imagine he became stray, as most unneutered males do, because he left home to chase a female and couldn't find his way home. That was obviously a long time ago though.

[cozietoesie]

Maybe he'll slack off a bit when he has more space to roam? At the moment, it sounds as if eating is his main occupation.

Fingers crossed anyway. You don't need him to develop a 'thing' about his nosh.

[pugsake]

Oh wow TCN you do such an amazing thing.

He's lovely all the best too him and you. (And the other 20 odd)

[thecatneuterer]

Update.

So Edgar is continuing to make progress. His eating has calmed down considerably. I think he has got used to food always being available and so now eats normal amounts. He mouth seems fine and he can eat without problems.

He is slowly, slowly getting cleaner. I think the fur was stained permanently by the blood in the flea dirt and, short of soaking him overnight in biological washing powder, nothing would shift the residual staining. However he is gradually becoming whiter, but he will need to naturally shed all the old fur before he becomes pristine I think.

He has now been moved from the spare room full of various visitor cats, into the living room, which currently has two kittens living there. I will shortly be giving him access to the whole house and the cat flap, but he doesn't seem too bothered about being shut in.

He has made friends with the littlest, sick kitten as you can see in the photos.

Thanks again to everyone who donated towards his treatment.

[cozietoesie]

Wonderful boy. Thanks for taking him in, TCN.

[Vinorosso74]

He's looking good and lovely he's taken that kitten under his wing. You do a fantastic job taking care of all those poor cats.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Will you keep him and kitten?

[GRW]

He looks so much better. Poor little thing must have been starving when you took him in. Thank you for all you do for the cats in your care, and thanks for updating us.

[thecatneuterer]

Fluffy - I am more or less resigned to keeping him. We are so short of homes and he isn't the sort of cat that would be quickly snapped up.

As for the kitten I don't know. We don't even know if she will survive yet. She doesn't seem to be growing and recently became unable to walk. She started walking again yesterday after a week of not even being able to sit up. The vets are mystified. So with her I'm not really thinking ahead.

[cozietoesie]

Having a big brother has made the difference - someone to snuggle with.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Poor kitten, I think cuddling helps too. When one of my childhood cats had a bad reaction to her flu jab she was taken by the breeder to be with mum.

She survived with no more problems.

[Lanaorana1]

Edgar is an exceptionally handsome cat, TCN, and may you and he and the kitten have a long and lovely time together.

I note Edgar's superiority of soul by the lovingness of him helping the kitten - he is doing as he was done by. The kitten is getting the best chance, eh.

Re dirt: When Mr C came he had been a street cat for ages and despite being in Battersea for 3 weeks was still saturated with dirt. I actually thought he was a black cat. It took about 3 months for his paws to turn pink and his fur to grow out white and sand.

You deserve a knighthood. Mind you, you have 23 cats, so that is better than any worldly glory.

[thecatneuterer]

Well Edgar had full access to the house and cat flap last night, and so far hasn't left the living room. He doesn't seem desperate to run away :)

And you know we were talking about poor little sad-faced Caitlin on this thread? Well amazingly she still hasn't got a home. We even did a feature on her in the local paper, and still nothing. I visited her in her pen yesterday and she is so lovely. Sweet, affectionate and pretty. I just don't understand why no one wants her.

[Vinorosso74]

Poor Caitlin she seems such a sweetheart. There must be someone out there who wants her, fingers crossed for her.

[cozietoesie]

Maybe someone could re-post a picture and/or a link to her details? Poor little lass.

[RubbishMantra]

Well that's something to cheer the soul! Edgar's body isn't stunted as I first thought, it was the thinness making his body appear so small. And passing on the love to little sickly kitten, I hope she pulls through. He appears to standing guard over her.

I get the feeling you don't really want to re-home Edgar, TCN. And I don't blame you. You could always give him a job as Kitten Minder!

[thecatneuterer]

Mantra - yes he is quite a large cat really.

It's not that I particularly want to keep him. He's lovely of course, but I really could do with fewer cats. It's just that I know how difficult it is to find homes and I don't want him to spend months in a pen waiting for a home, even if we had a spare pen, which we don't.

[cozietoesie]

Are CHAT still at 'crates in the corridors' stage?

[thecatneuterer]

Cozie. Well we now have our brand new cattery built on the upstairs extension. Completion had been delayed for around two years due to various issues (mainly financial). The minute it was finished it was full and yet desperate cases are still coming in. It was always going to be the case that the number of cats in desperate need would expand to fill the space available.

So I don't think we will ever have enough space and cats will always be crammed in somewhere if there really is no choice. Mothers and kittens are still coming in daily. Either dumped in our clinic or found in boxes etc. Cats are still having to come in from people leaving the country, being evicted etc, who normally only think to mention it to us the day before. Sick and injured cats are being found daily. It's all overwhelming.

And the problem book list just gets longer and longer and we can't deal with it. I find it very depressing and stressful and I don't even spend that much time in the clinic.

[haggisaggis]

I wish I could take him but 1. we live in Scotland and 2. I already have 2 boy cats who don't get on very well and really don't want to introduce another one. We had a 10 year old black & white rescue cat called Edgar who died very suddenly 3 years ago tomorrow. I still miss him! He was a crotchety thing who would be very cuddly with me one minute them wouldn't come near me for days the next. He was also very deaf - you could bang a drum behind him and he wouldn't flinch.

[cozietoesie]

Do CHAT have fosterers on their books? And are vet costs covered for those cats?

[thecatneuterer]

Yes we have fosterers, but there are never enough. And yes vet costs and food are covered.

[cozietoesie]

Goodness - food as well?

I just have a suspicion that there are a good many families around who would be prepared to foster but, perhaps, just can't at the point countenance a seriously long term commitment or the vet bills that that might mean.

Who might people contact if they're thinking about it? Do you have a link?

[thecatneuterer]

Fostering: www.celiahammond.org/index.php/2015-02-07-13-01-25/fostering-appeal

[cozietoesie]

Thanks TCN. I hope you obtain some more fosterers.

[GinAndOnIt]

I've just read through this thread and isn't Edgar lovely?

I adopted a B/W 10 year old male in a similar state in March. I recognise the very yellow-y tinge to the white fur. He had been there such a long time and he had a little sign on his door saying something along the lines of 'please stop and get to know me. Don't pass me by on my looks'. God, I well up just thinking about it now.

He has three teeth left I think, or two and a stump, and a very chewed up ear. He had a very scarred face and was so yellow and greasy looking.

I emailed a photo of him to the centre the other day and they said they can't believe how different he looks compared to the photo they have of him when he first came into the rescue. He is so wonderful, and I can't even begin to explain the feeling in my heart when I look at him and think about his previous life.

If I could adopt or foster more, I really would. But he came from a home with 9 other cats, and I think he's really loving life as the only cat. We have a dog too so I think adding more cats would just stress him out, and I want him to enjoy his last few years.

If we move to a bigger home though, I definitely want to seriously consider adopting more hard-to-home pets.

You do such a wonderful job OP. I hope Edgar is doing well.