Cat adoption campaign: PURINA and Cats Protection collaboration
15 August 2019
In April, PURINA® launched its Purina in Society campaign to raise awareness of its 10 commitments to pets, society and the planet. Promoting pet adoption is a key commitment, so PURINA® and Cats Protection have partnered on the campaign. Running from late April until the end of June, it focuses on three adoption stories.
Purina has been the charity’s partner for over 30 years and the campaign will raise awareness of our work and champion our long-standing partnership.
The campaign focuses on three inspirational and real life cat adoptions, Willow, Macavity and Harriet and Harry. Each one conveys how cat owners found their perfect match thanks to the dedication and expertise of our staff and volunteers. The campaign will be visible across social media platforms, digital publications and BuzzFeed from late April until end of June.
Willow – an unexpected journey
Poor Willow, a tiny black kitten, arrived at Cats Protection’s Bridgend Adoption Centre after she was found hiding in the back of a lorry that had travelled all the way from Bristol. It wasn’t until the driver stopped that he discovered his stowaway and took her straight to the centre just in time. She was in a bad state and the centre had to rush her to the vets immediately.
“She collapsed within a few minutes of arriving here. We didn’t expect her to survive the trip to the vets but she is a little fighter and hung on in there. An x-ray showed no broken bones but she was suffering from hypothermia and had sustained a head injury,” said Bridgend Manager, Sue Dobbs.
With some expert care from the vets and the centre’s staff and volunteers, Willow made a remarkable recovery and was soon adopted by her new owner Allison.
“We decided to put in a request to adopt Willow because her story was so heart-wrenching,” said Allison. “My daughter has also been very keen to have a black cat so in many respects she was perfect for us.
“She enjoys nothing more than chasing her favourite toy, a fabric mouse, the length of the room, sliding across the wooden flooring. She also enjoys batting ping-pong balls around another toy.”
Macavity – rescued from inside a wall
Macavity had a tough start in life and was found inside a wall cavity at a bar in Belfast. Cats Protection’s Belfast Adoption Centre were called to investigate after receiving a call from the bar. When they arrived at the Shamrock Sports and Social Club, they soon discovered there was no way to get to the poor kitten and so enlisted the help of the nearby Westland Fire Station. The firefighters were able to locate Macavity from her cries and removed a concrete block to gain access.
Macavity was quickly rushed to the vets and nursed back to health. If she had been trapped for just a few more hours, she may not have survived.
Harriet and Harry – survival against the odds
A gorgeous black moggy, Harriet and her kitten, were brought into Bridgend Adoption Centre after a member of the public found them in their shed. The poor cat had just given birth but sadly two of her kittens had passed away.
No microchip was found, so the centre named the mum Harriet and took them both to the vet. They noticed she had signs of infection, so admitted her for emergency treatment. They suspected she may have an injured pelvis and decided to x-ray her to investigate. However, this revealed something much more surprising – Harriet had a diaphragmatic hernia, a hole in the diaphragm between the chest cavity and the abdomen – so her abdominal organs were in her chest cavity.
While she was under general anaesthetic, she started to go into respiratory failure and the vet quickly contacted the centre for permission to perform potentially life-saving surgery. It was a risky operation, but Harriet beat the odds and pulled through. She then spent 48 hours in an oxygen tent recovering. During this tense time Harriet’s tiny kitten, who has been named Harry, was being bottle fed by the vet nurses to make sure he got all the important nutrients he required.
Having had no success finding her owner, the centre set up an appeal to cover the cost of vet care. Thanks to some very generous supporters they managed to raise an incredible £500 and Harriet made a full recovery.When Harry reached eight weeks old, both he and his mum were ready to find a new home and it wasn’t long before they found their forever homes.
Purina is partnering with Cats Protection to promote cat adoption. Find your perfect match today – www.cats.org.uk/adoption2019
You can find out more about Purina’s commitments at www.purina.co.uk/pins/our-commitments