It was just shy of a year ago when a badly injured Little Boy was surrendered to the RSPCA, with wounds from a traumatic and vicious cat fight that almost cost him his leg.
The repercussions sent Little Boy on a year-long journey of rehabilitation, where he underwent multiple surgeries and specialist veterinary treatments.
Little Boy required internal plates and screws, which he’ll have for the rest of his life.
Little Boy’s long road to recovery
The poor cat was facing a tumultuous six months of surgery and rehabilitation and required a huge amount of attention from a foster career. He found himself bouncing between four homes before he finally settled in at Zena Hickling’s house.
Zena brought Little Boy into the comfort of her home for six months while he received the medical care he so desperately needed. Due to the severity of Little Boy’s injuries, Zena was required to keep his physical exercise to a minimum, which was easier said than done.
“He was supposed to be in cage rest when we had him, but he was persistent about breaking out of the pen we had him in,” Zena laughed.
“After a while, we figured out that the only reason why he wanted to escape was so he could curl up on our bed and spend the day sleeping. I think he just wanted to be part of the family and settle into our home.”
Little Boy picked up part-time work as a kitten nanny
When Little Boy came into Zena’s care, she was already fostering two dogs, a rabbit, birds and a litter of kittens. It initially came as a shock to the cat who had spent so much time being ferried in an out of vet clinics.
Now surrounded by a variety of species and other cats, Little Boy had to adapt to his new surroundings fast.
“The litter of kittens we had were still very young, so Little Boy basically became their big brother – he really helped them gain their confidence.”
“We’re incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to foster these animals” – Zena
Zena says she is eager to foster more animals in need. “A lot of people don’t actually realise how much the RSPCA does to care for these animals and find their forever homes,” she said.
“Every individual animal, no matter how broken they might be, is given every possible chance to recover and find a loving forever home. Without the foster carers like us who are prepared to put in the time and effort, the RSPCA wouldn’t cope with the high numbers of cats and kittens that continue to come into their care.
Update: We are excited to announce that after half a year of rehabilitation Little Boy went up for adoption and quickly found his forever home. His happy ending wouldn’t have been possible without the love and determination of Zena. We would like to thank her and all our foster carers out there, for helping to rebuild the lives of animals in need.
Interested in helping cats like Little Boy? You can join our foster care team HERE.
