At the CatCuddles Sanctuary, we've recently taken in a desperately unwell cat - Eggy - at a time when the charity is already facing an outstanding vet bill of around £3800; the accumulated costs of treating countless unwanted, abandoned and needy cats in the passing months. These have included twelve stray cats and kittens and five special needs cats from Greece in November and December alone.

In light of this, we're launching our final fundraiser of the year with an extremely ambitious goal in mind. Whilst our first priority is funding Eggy's veterinary care, which promises to cost several hundred pounds, we've set a target that is far more signficant so that any further donations can go towards that hefty vet bill. It's a sum that has built as a result of a near-constant influx of cats into the charity - no matter how many instalments we pay, the number just keeps on going up.

A contribution towards this fundraiser is a contribution not only towards a happy and healthy future for Eggy, but also to the hundreds of vaccinations, health-checks, blood tests, dentals - the list goes on and on - that we've performed on cats throughout the year, via our brilliant collaborating vets.

We know it is a highly ambitious target, but even if we fall far below, we appreciate every penny - for Eggy, and every cat who has passed through our doors in 2018.

EGGY'S STORY

Eggy has been of concern to residents of Eglington Hill, Plumstead, for some time, being visibly unwell but wary and difficult to approach. Though he wouldn’t allow anyone to touch him, on some nights he would sleep in the front garden of a local family, who set up a weather-proofed cat carrier as shelter for him.

After being alerted to Eggy’s plight through social media posts and direct contact from a member of the public, CatCuddles got in touch with the family and were able to collect Eggy in his improvised shelter, taking him straight to our collaborating vet.

And though we knew that Eggy was unwell, the full extent of his condition was still a huge shock. He was in such poor shape that volunteers believed him to be at least ten years old; only to discover, from examining his teeth, that he is actually only around eight. He is filthy, drastically underweight for his size, flea ridden, with cat flu symptoms, and he laid listless and unresponsive in his carrier when our volunteers collected him; but this was not the worst of it.

He was also bleeding profusely from the ears, which were, for lack of a better term, shredded. Due to a combination of ear mites, a flea allergy and accumulated dirt, Eggy had scratched his ears until they were a mass of swollen, infected scar tissue and open wounds.

Eggy cowered throughout his veterinary examination, hiding under a blanket; he had the air of a cat who had given up. He was given parasite treatment, antibiotics, and a cone to prevent further damage to his ears, which will need to be cleaned daily in a somewhat gruelling regime by our volunteers. Since we've never seen a cat in such an awful condition so young, he's also been given blood tests to rule out other issues, and will be neutered once his health is more stable.

As you can imagine, the cost of these treatments have begun to mount, and will be in addition to standard care costs like vaccinations, microchipping, food and litter, which will be greater for Eggy as many weeks of work are needed before he is healthy enough for adoption. This is why we're fundraising for Eggy's care costs as a priority, and looking at tackling our daunting vet bill next.

Today Eggy purred for one of our volunteers, as they gently cleaned dirt and discharge from his face, ears, and his poor, fragile body. There is a lot of hope for him; we can't change how his story began, but we can make sure it has a happy ending - with your help.