Look what the wind blew in ml!

[TheLongRider]

Myself and DD were cycling to school yesterday morning. About 500m from our house DD spotted a cat trying to cross the very busy road near the park. I called the cat and it mewed and it's tail shot up in the air. We stopped the bikes and I managed to grab the cat and get it and DD to safety.

The cat wasn't injured and purred when I picked it up. I had to make an instant decision, take DD to school and hope the cat would be ok, or bring the cat home and check it properly. The decision was made for me by DD bursting in to tears declaring we couldn't leave the cat.

With the cat in one hand, bicycle in the other, myself and DD trudged home. The cat was pretty good. I had to put it down to get the gate open and it meowed and followed us home.

Once home I had a proper look at it. It sniffed around, registering that there are three other cats living in the house, they were out at the time. My DH brought our now chirpy DD to school with a tale to tell.

We brought the cat to our vet. It was easy to catch and put in the cat box and apart from some unparliamentary language there was no trouble.

The vet gave the cat a good going over and ascertained that he's an un-neutered 7 month old boy. Apart from some matted fur, he's in great condition. He's booked in for the snip on Thursday.

At the moment he's at home. He's a real purr monster, very people friendly and confident. He's used the litter tray and scoffed plates of food. He's growling at the other cats who are put out but tolerant.

This is Leaf!

You’re heart was obviously in the right place but if you find yourself in a similar situation again the best thing to have done was to move the cat to a save area, away from the road.

My friend has a cat, her girls absolutely adore him but he isn’t microchipped or neutered. She can’t afford it. I know you shouldn’t really take on a pet if you can’t pay for those things but it doesn’t mean he’s not well fed, loved and cared for.

I can't believe you've stolen someones cat 

retrainertrainer Some charities have free or low cost neutering (I think it was the RSPCA near us recently) and microchipping is generally cheap anyway. Tell your friend to keep an eye out.

It does worry me when people say they can't afford to have an animal neutered or microchipped. How are they going to afford vets fees if the animal is ill or injured? I understand circumstances change before anyone jumps on me!

Thanks Pink, i’ll pass that info on. In my friends case her cat has needed veterinary care and she’s prioritised it but microchipping and neutering and seen as non essential. Not right I know but I think lots of people are in the same situation.

I've just searched back and it was the RSPCA. This was the Southall branch and I'm sure if they do it other branches will - it might be worth a phone call to ask. I'm pretty sure I've seen microchipping offers as well, £10 rings a bell as an offer.

This is how I ended up with mine. He belonged to someone down the road. People a few doors down decidednthey wanted it and stole it. Then. They decided they didn’t want it anymore and it started coming into my house. Between me and the original owner we realised they had stopped feeding him. He would go back to hers so he ended up with mine. Becuaee he is a gorgeous looking cat people try and feed him and let him in.

So many people in Facebook saying they had found a stray cat. No he isn’t. Cats just roam. The shelters are full of cats wanting houses. You could have got one from there instead of taking one off the streets.