Gables Dogs & Cats Home has recently taken in an 18-month old cat called ‘Larry’ who is in need of urgent medical care and life saving surgery. On arrival at Gables he was very wobbly and it was discovered he was having seizures. Gables contracted vets Filham Park carried out tests which indicate he has a portosystemic (liver) shunt.

It is believed he was born with this condition, where the toxins in his blood are not filtered out by his liver and instead travel to his brain. This causes him to have episodes where he becomes very wobbly, disorientated and dribbles. He is currently taking medication every 12 hours to manage this condition but it is not effective long term. Even on the medication he still has seizure style episodes which take 2 to 3 days for him to recover from.

To help with this fatal condition Larry has been referred to High Grove Referral Centre in Bristol so he can have a CT scan to investigate his condition and to plan for lifesaving surgery to correct the liver shunt.

Deputy Manager, Ruth Rickard had this to say about Larry: “He is such a lovely character and it is heart breaking to see him suffering with these episodes. He is only a young cat so we hope that the specialist surgery he desperately needs will enable him to live a normal life. We are currently medicating him every 12 hours, which he tolerates well. He is always so pleased to see me in the evenings and is a pleasure to care for. He has lots of love to give to a new owner once he is well enough to be adopted.”

It is estimated it will cost Gables £7,000 for all the treatment, scans, specialist surgery and medication that Larry will need now and into the future, as well as basic care such as flea and worm treatment and vaccinations.

Gables Dogs & Cats Home does not receive any government funding and has felt the financial strain from the cost of living crisis, but they are determined to help Larry.