20/06/13: Ellie is now very well, has even come on heat in the last week, AND is now castrated and vaccinated having kept the house awake for several days, while she talked loudly to all her boyfriends! I saw her again for a photoshoot last week, and apart from the fact that she wouldn’t keep still for portraits, she was her lovely little self, chatting away and interested now in everything. It was lovely to see her looking so great. I did introduce her to Oz, as we were wondering if they had both been abandoned together. They didn’t actually seem to know one another but immediately shared friendly nose taps. This tiny little lady is another dream cat. She is so so friendly, affectionate and sweet to all. I love her and hope she finds her family quickly.
23/05/13: Today the news of Ellie is much better. She is now eating a lot and seems recovered. It will however take some weeks for her to re-build her weight and musculature. I think this little lady was rescued just in time. Thenkyou to the children who cared enough to pick her up, and to the lovely Spanish lady who has used all her experience with sick cats to help her. I think and really hope her fight is won and she will soon be completely healthy again. I know that when she is she will find a home quickly, because she IS a little sweetheart.
21/05/13: Ellie has had a tough 10 days since I last posted about her. She ate ok for a few days and then started to vomit her food, we think as a reaction to the antibiotics. I was so worried that I moved her to a small rescue home where the owner had better food and medicine options and a lot of experience of problems like this. After a week there Ellie has finally started to eat on her own, and we hope the critical stage is over. I am still worried but less so, and continue to hope that this little darling will start to put on weight and become the healthy pretty little darling she is supposed to be.
12/05/13: Ellie IS going to need time to recover fully from her almost starvation, but I have just taken these lovely photos of her enjoying the sun. She now has bright alive eyes again, and the mucus is almost gone from her nose. Now she just needs to gain more appetite and weight. I am about to go and spend some time with her as she is lonely, isolated on my balcony. When I am with her she seems to eat more! Bless her!!!
11/05/13: The article that Chris published the other day on how to recognise a stray cat was written by someone else, and whilst there were some very good points, I feel that this person must have been writing from a country other than Spain, as from my 4+ years of working with the strays, I would recommend much more immediate intervention. Very few cats here are chipped and a lost or abandoned cat doesn’t fare well at all. They are often close to starving before a caring person helps them, and they are the lucky ones. Few find food and they must compete with the much stronger, more aggressive genuine ferals, of which there are so many here. To be honest, I have very little interest in looking for their previous owners if the cats are not chipped. I prefer to spend my time helping the cat, and then looking for a new family that will look after it better! This is the reality here in Spain. Lost or abandoned tame cats are easy to pick up. they are normally asking for help. Our policy is to look for a chip quickly and then get on with helping and re-homing the cat.
Ellie is a great example. Chris and I were about to eat one evening last week when some Spanish children knocked on our door. One had Ellie in her arms, and I didn’t need to understand too much Spanish to know what was needed. Ellie was full of cold and her eyes were very dull. I knew she was a stray even before I took her from the little girl. Holding her confirmed this. She was literally skin and bone! When I took her to my vet the next day, he confirmed that Ellie was a small adult of about 18 months, and this poor little sweetheart weighed only 1.45kg! She is completely tame and loves cuddles, to the extent of climbing up onto my shoulders. She has no aggression and welcomed Mercedes to share her balcony for a few days.
Ellie has now been with us for almost a week, and she is eating ok, enjoying high protein kitten biscuits. Her appetite is not huge which to me is normal for a cat that has almost starved, but each day she looks a little better. She is on her 3rd slow release antibiotic injection, and now has bright little eyes. Her favourite pass-time for now, apart from cuddle, is resting, and she loves the afternoon sun. I think Ellie was rescued just in time by some children who cared, and whilst I cannot normally take in cats myself, Ellie was small enough and sweet enough for me to help her here for now. She is not strong enough to go to a cat rescue home yet, so I am looking for a foster home for the next 2 weeks, where Ellie can continue to build up her strength. It will be at least 2 months before she will be ready to travel to a new home in Germany, as she is far too thin for vaccinations at this stage, and may also need sterilising. All this we can do in good time. Now she needs to put on at least another kg before I would put her little body under any more stress.
I think Ellie will be fine now. I believe she was abandoned, and I am very very happy to have been able to help this little darling. She is so so sweet!!!
Click on any the photos to view the complete gallery full size.
How lovely Sandra i just read the whole story of poor Ellie, so glad she is safe now, and wish her all the best for the future in her new home x
Thankyou Tracy. xxx
Ellie – An Abandoned Sweetheart | ALStrays http://t.co/I1zvyotlIp