Whenever a cat comes into our care they’re checked thoroughly nose to tail and, on average, receive four treatments but we never know what kind of care the next cat through our doors will need.

Sometimes it’s routine, sometimes a rabbit hole, like the lump a cat care assistant noticed beneath Boots’ ear.

Boots’ full-body scan showed that she’d been cruelly shot. The pellets had narrowly missed her vital organs, spinal cord and brain. She’d been lucky to survive. The vets managed to remove nine of the pellets but five were deemed too dangerous to take out.

Veterinary surgeon Katrina Cordell said:

“They were everywhere; behind her ear, under her chin, and even in her tail. Any one of them could have been fatal. We’re confident the remaining pellets won’t cause her problems. She is a very lucky kitty at the end of the day, none the worse for wear other than a rather odd-looking haircut and a few stitches.” 
 
Boots has now recuperated and since been rehomed. Boots was a lucky cat.

Road traffic accidents, undiagnosed conditions, broken bones, illnesses. Whatever the cause, thousands of cats in our care each year need surgeries and treatments alongside their standard care.