Chained up kitten dies despite Bradford Cat Watch Rescue doing all it could

Whilst the cost of living rises and the aftermath of the ‘pet boom’ during the pandemic, I guess this was always expected. But perhaps not to the extent we are witnessing right now.

We’re getting 15-20 calls daily about unwanted, abandoned cats. Like other rescues, we’re run entirely by volunteers and whilst we’d love to help every homeless cat in need we simply don’t have the resources, space or finances.

Some rescues in Bradford have their own specialisms. For example, Rags to Riches takes on homeless ‘street boy’ cats, gets them neutered and looks for suitable places for them to live - far better than literally fighting to survive on the streets.

Some organisations focus on mums and kittens, others prefer the small and fluffy kittens.

Bradford Cat Watch Rescue and Sanctuary predominantly exists to save lives. We provide critical care to sick, injured and abused cats. We receive referrals from West Yorkshire and beyond, from fire, police, ambulance and social services to name a few. Most new admissions begin their journey to recovery in our Intensive Care and Critical Care Ward.

In the last four weeks our admissions of cats and kittens suffering non-accidental injuries, wilful abuse and neglect have saturated. On August 23 Ethel came into our care. She was an eight-week-old kitten found tied up with a metal chain around her neck. When she arrived her breathing was shocking, she was cold, had mild flu symptoms and using all four limbs tentatively. On X-ray her entire chest appeared shunted to the right with an odd looking ribcage. One lung appeared collapsed and the heart had been ‘forced’ to the other side of the chest. Air present in the chest was drawn off through a ‘tap’. Blood tests showed her liver values were sky high, consistent with severe trauma. In addition, there was bleeding in the eye.

All this pointed towards horrendous abuse. It was not consistent with a road accident, a fall or any other accidental injury.

We nursed Ethel on our intensive care unit. She had pain relief, antibiotics and was on intravenous fluid.

Katie Lloyd with Ethel, a kitten found chained up (Image: Submitted)

Ethel had a suspected crush injury that caused lung collapse and pneumothorax on one side, this was corrected by our fabulous vet team but this kind of injury can lead to permanent lung damage, pulmonary contusions, clots, reperfusion injury... Although she looked well, her injuries were just too great. It is with great sadness that despite everything we tried, Ethel lost her fight.

Whilst caring for Ethel we also were dealing with other cats with horrific experiences. On August 26 five tiny kittens were brought to us with suspected injuries. Within 24 hours two had died, leaving us caring for Dandelion, Thistle and Nettles. We have been feeding them every two to three hours so they’d be strong enough for a full assessment.

It appears that Dandelion has two broken hind limbs, Thistle has a broken front limb and Nettles has a likely broken tail.

How can kittens so young sustain such terrible injuries?

On August 23 little Eddie came to us via a social worker who saw him being thrown by his legs by children boasting of ‘boxing’ with him. Little Eddie has been with us for a turbulent two weeks. He has been a challenge to nurse due to his unwillingness to eat. At the eleventh hour, just before a feeding tube was about to be inserted following strong pain relief, he began to eat. We believe Eddie sustained head trauma resulting in facial and brain injury and vision issues. He is on the road to recovery, but remains in intensive care.

Mia was found seven days ago in Undercliffe Cemetery. She’s around eight-weeks-old and has microopthalmia, which means she’s blind. She was probably dumped in the cemetery when her owners were unable to sell her.

This is just a snapshot of what we’re dealing with. On top of these dreadful cruelty cases we’re providing palliative care for several elderly cats, rehabilitation for seriously injured cats, dealing with epileptic cats and managing seizures and medication.

We totally understand the devastating effects of the increased cost of living and the pressures this puts on pet owners, especially when they become ill. There are lots of hidden costs to owning a pet - it’s a lot more than just buying a few pouches of food a week. You need to keep pets healthy, safe and entertained. A lot of owners aren’t aware of the cost of vet fees. Preventative veterinary care is essential. Responsible owners should always include neutering, vaccinations (including annual boosters), flea and worm treatments, microchipping, and pet insurance.

In the pandemic many people bought pets which are now ‘surplus to requirements’. Between March 2020 and March 2021 it’s estimated around 3.2 million pets joined families during lockdown in Britain. What we cannot ever understand is the abhorrent cruelty and wilful neglect that seems to be inflicted on so many pets this year.

* Visit bcwr-kittens.co.uk