I thought you would all like to know that Jesiri now has his own purple collar, and ID.. and jumps around the house like a gazelle. He is a very cheeky puss and is getting on with the other elderlycats in the family. He has not been outside yet but has access to the house and isnt in his pen anymore.. You wouldnt really know about his injuries, he does limp every now again when he over does it abit..though. He loves his food and dosnt mind being played roughly, he loves his toys and his bean bag to sleep on.. He is a wonderful, energetic and playful puss and everyone involved in his rescue, and those people from Purrs should feel good about themselves in helping Jesiri on his road to recover. The following is what i wrote for our newsletter that has just been printed.
Using up your nine lives!
It isn’t very often that i write a rehoming column in our newsletter about one particular cat, but this one deserves a special mention.
Only two days after waving goodbye to our dear Baz (featured in our last newsletter) who was the picture of health the day his new owners came and collected him…we took in Jesiri.
Abit of a weird name for a cat i hear you say? Well, as it happens it was all short notice and we had to come up with something quick… My Niece, who is soon to depart to Namibia and Jesiri means “Gold” in Namibian.. So let me tell you about this young ginger tabby cat, with huge yellow eyes.
Jesiri was just another uneutered stray handed into a vets, but he had suffered a great deal after being involved in some kind of road traffic accident (RTAs), indeed all nine lives where used in that one incident i think... Unlike many RTA’s we come across, Jesiri had come off much worse, having a suspected broken pelvis, leg and jaw…. All which turned out to be true, as well as a broken tail... However, it was a full week before we got to hear about his plight and before swift action was needed to literally save him from being put to sleep. Despite Jesiri’s injuries he remained a cat with huge character and charm.. Not aggressive in his pain or at all, just sorrowful eyes and a pleading look was it took to take him on.. The reason he was untreated for so long was the cost of repairing his injuries, at the time reckoned to be around £800.00..
Once again Isobel our Welfare office, immediately got him signed over to our care and to a vet where we assessed his injuries.. Things didn’t look particular hopeful in saving his crushed leg and his pelvis was pretty bad as well.. He was on a drip for a day or so which gave us abit of time to decide what to do…Jesiri’s injuries were not recent, he probably had all those problems for at least two weeks beforehand, how this mite survived in getting himself food and water is abit of a mystery, but he did, and although thin he was not overly so…(indeed he weighed abit more then Baz when he was first brought into our care)… If a cat unfortunately has to loose a leg, its not the end of the world as they adapt very quickly and cope surprisingly well. Losing a front leg it not ideal and having a dodgy pelvis as well does not much help distribute the weight. Jesiri had major problems, but we or the vet didn’t see an option for him but to loose his leg.. Fate was to prove to be Jesiri saving grace, when x-rays revealed that the leg and his pelvis had started to heal, and being such a young puss (no more then one year we would say) his body had started to repair itself. This meant that with rest and reduced activity in time Jesiri would get the use of his leg back again, although no where near perfect and always with a bad limp, he could in essence live a life with four legs rather then three. So Jesiri was neutered, fixed up with dressings, wired his jaw and given plenty of antibiotics before being sent to one of our fosterers for many weeks of TLC..that was over six weeks ago.
Jesiri turns out to have a character of youth; his playfulness and general ability to take all that life has thrown at him make us marvel at his personality. He never once bit or hissed, never got really annoyed, at the constant bandaging (that he has a habit of getting off two seconds after you put them on). In the weeks we have had him in our care, he has put on weight and has inched his way into the fosterers hearts, and there have been a few cats in the last few years that have been in that same position, but this one seems to be firmly placed as staying here with his fosterers, literally. I write this a day before Jesiri goes back into the vets to have his metal fixture removed from his jaw that was broken and also to have his tail removed.. His tail was damaged so much it has become separated from this vertebra and thus there isn’t much chance of it being much use to him in the future.. However, having to loose a tail in place of loosing a leg is perhaps a small price to pay for happy life..
Jesiri, has had an impact on our finances especially only a few weeks after Baz’s high veterinary cost (broken jaw and weeks at the vets, through another RTA). However, it is good to know that we were able to give Jesiri a lifeline where there was none and that’s what rescue is all about. All those people who have so kindly donated money towards his care… Jesiri sends you head butts and purrs for saving his life. As so often in rescue we have limited funds and resources, but hopefully never get to say “no” when some hope exists. I also happend to be a real sucker for hard luck stories and don't give up easily!
I would like to thank Bourne vets who have done such a great job treating Jesiri in some difficult circumstances and also Isobel are welfare officer, who sometimes goes beyond the call of duty when she see’s an animal in distress, despite the fact that being a veterinary nurse she see's this on an almost daily basis.
So as three cats loose their fight for life in one week due to terminal illness or major neglect and suffering, three cats returned to owners from the efforts of our lost and found co ordinator, two direct rehomings, two ferals neutered and returned, twenty three cats and an amazing thirty four kittens rehomed since our last newsletter, Jesiri is a example that we can indeed make a difference.
