Just when we thought we had seen it all… along came Snowball.

This beautiful boy arrived with four other lovely cats, who all needed a safe space to call home after their owner had passed away.

 

 

Our vigilant team makes it their priority with new residents to check them over physically, ensuring we take care of all their immediate needs.

When it came to super-sweet boy, Snowball, we were shocked to find a strange, rock-hard object embedded in his ear canal. We had no idea what the item could be, but were certain it did not naturally belong where it was firmly wedged.

Upon further investigation by a vet, it was determined – to our absolute horror – that this was, in fact, an air rifle pellet, that had almost certainly been shot at this innocent, young cat’s head. What the perpetrator’s intentions were, we can barely allow ourselves to imagine.

 

 

At this point, our concerns were for how long Snowball had endured the agony of this metal inside his ear, and whether it might be possible he could have additional pellets inside his body.

We sedated Snowball, to make him comfortable, and carried out a full-body x-ray. Thankfully, we were relieved to know that this was the only pellet to have permanently penetrated his vulnerable body - even though this was still one rifle pellet too many.

 

An x-ray of poor Snowball's skull, with the visible pellet inside his ear canal

 

Our local vet reported that the item was so heavily embedded, it proved to be challenging to remove, and would have been completely impossible to do so without providing Snowball with full anaesthesia.

Only hours after waking up, superstar Snowball was recovering well and seemed much happier to no longer be enduring a life of constant discomfort.

 

   

The pellet after removal

 

On top of the anticipated expenses, Snowball’s emergency veterinary procedures more than doubled his care costs – this potentially reduces our ability to help other animals so quickly.

The cost of providing unforeseen care like this to the many rescue animals we take into the safety of our rescue centres is constantly rising. We want to tell you about the challenges we are facing, and how you can be here to help our best friends find their happiness.

 

      

 

By donating today, you will be saving the next poor animal to have been subjected to these totally unacceptable & unnecessary acts of cruelty.

 

 

We are delighted to report that, very shortly after Snowball recovered, he met his amazing new humans, who decided to take him home forever.

Not only did they fall in love with Snowball, but his kind, new ‘paw-rents’ also decided to give a loving home to his best friend, Coco - one of the other homeless cats he had arrived with.

 

 

Thank you for being here, by our side, to offer that vital paw of friendship that so many animals need.