Lockdown has undoubtedly been a rollercoaster for the majority of us and that doesn’t exclude pets. 
After living a quiet, happy life with his elderly owner, ten-year old cat Mickie found himself all alone when his owner sadly passed away, leaving him in the house they had shared.
After a few weeks, neighbours spotted Mickie in their garden, lying down in obvious distress with an extremely swollen paw and he was evidently having trouble walking.
The neighbour called Mayhew immediately and one of their Animal Welfare Officers headed out to safely contain Mickie and take him to their community vet clinic for emergency treatment.
Mayhew Animal Welfare Office, Tania Mazzoni learned from the neighbour that Mickie’s elderly owner had a grandson, who had been worried about the cat after visiting the house and not being able to find him.
Mayhew were able to get in touch with him and reassure him that Mickie was in safe hands an because he was not in a position to take Mickie himself, he signed the black and white feline over to them.
Dr Emily Richardson, Mayhew’s Vet took a thorough look at Mickie’s leg wound and guessed from the shape and severity, that the abscess was likely caused by a cat or rat bite.
A spokesperson for Mayhew said: “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 he got some extra TLC and time to get used to his new surroundings.
When the abscess was almost fully healed, Mickie was placed 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.
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 emergency dental treatment and list him for rehoming and said that he is becoming braver and friendlier every day.
To find out more about which animals are available for adoption right now, please check the Mayhew website – www.themayhew.org.
