A cat who miraculously survived catastrophic injuries after being hit by a bus got back onto her paws to finally find her purr-fect home.
Four-year-old Trudie suffered major head injuries when she was hit by a bus in Luton, Bedfordshire, on 14 March. Witnesses who saw the accident tried to help the stray cat but, frightened, she ran off.
Dedicated staff and volunteers at the RSPCA’s Southridge Animal Centre, in Hertfordshire, heard what had happened and were desperate to track down the cat. They worked with Cat Welfare Luton to find her; putting up posters, posting on social media, contacting local vets and dropping off leaflets in the area.
Sixteen days later she was spotted, caught and rushed to a local vet for life-saving treatment to wire her smashed jaw back together and remove her damaged eye. Her injuries had left her unable to eat so she was starving and very weak.
Southridge deputy manager Mona Jorgensen said: “It’s a miracle that she’d survived with those horrific injuries especially as they’d left her unable to eat. She showed that she was a real fighter.
“After her surgery she was fed via a tube for the first week and then, when she came to our cattery, we slowly weaned her back onto normal food and helped her start walking again.”
She was named Trudie, after St Gertrude the Patron Saint of Cats, and spent six months nursing her back to full health before starting the search for the purr-fect new home for her.
Mona added: “We all spent so much time with Trudie and she had a special place in all of our hearts. After everything we’d been through, we knew we needed to find her the most amazing home.”
Dennis Hooper, from South Mimms, heard about Trudie via his daughter who was desperate to offer the local celebrity a home.
Dennis, and his partner Shirley Carter, felt they could offer the pretty tortoiseshell a forever home. He said: “My daughter and her fiance weren’t suitable for Trudie as they have another cat but we knew we could offer her a lovely, quiet home. We’re big animal-lovers, particularly cats, and I knew I’d choose an animal who had been through the worst time so I could show them a lovely life.”
The couple picked up Trudie last week and she’s settling into her new home well.
Dennis said: “She is smashing; she absolutely loves fuss and is a really sweetie. She is progressing really well. She loves to spend time in the sunny conservatory; she has her own chair, two armchairs and a settee to choose from so she moves around to snooze in different spots! She likes to watch the birds in the birdbath and we have a lovely big garden so once she’s ready I’m sure she’ll enjoy exploring outside.
“When she was rescued she was in such a state and was really emaciated as she’d not eaten for 16 days but now she’s getting a bit porky so we’re having to cut her food back a bit! We didn’t realise how much of a star she was; she even had people from America making donations to help her and asking for updates. She’d been with Southridge for a long time and the girls were almost in tears when we went to collect her but we’ve told them to pop in and visit her whenever they like!”
This Adoptober, the RSPCA is shining a light on all of the animals in its care and encouraging families to consider adopting instead of shopping.
To find out more about rehoming from the RSPCA visit www.rspca.org.uk/findapet.
