Deaf cat looking for a new home

Scarlet was found in a distressed state near
Sittingbourne Credit: RSPCA

25.04.2016
A deaf cat found with an abscess the size of a golf ball on her face has been rescued and nursed back to health by the RSPCA - and is now looking for a new home.

Scarlet, a black-and-white female thought to be around 16 years-old, was found in an extremely distressed state in the High Street in Milton Regis, near Sittingbourne in February.

She was spotted by a member of the public wandering the streets with the large infected mass on the side of her head. The RSPCA was called and took her into care. X-rays later found that the infected abscess had originally been caused by a gun pellet.

“Poor Scarlet was in such a sorry state when I came to collect her.

“The abscess was massive and had gone right down to her bone. She would have been in an awful lot of pain and discomfort as she wandered around on her own like that

“It is difficult to know whether she had been abandoned, or whether she had been so startled by being shot she had ended up straying and getting lost. She is deaf, so it may be that she didn’t hear someone coming up to her with a gun, which somehow makes her even more vulnerable."
– ANIMAL COLLECTIONS OFFICER ROY JEZARD

Scarlet was found with an infected abscess on the side of her head Credit: RSPCA

“It took quite some care to get this lovely old lady fighting fit again - but now she is doing really well.

“We had no idea at first what had caused the infection, until veterinary investigations revealed the ball-bearing gun pellet stuck in her sinuses, such a difficult spot that it cannot be removed and so she will have to tolerate it for the rest of her life

“Scarlet is such a lovely old girl and will make the right person the perfect pet. She will not be on any long-term medication and does have a specific dietary needs, but would benefit from a quieter home where there are no young children or other animals, somewhere she can have all the attention and be spoilt to make up for the tough times she has had in life.

“As she is deaf, she might be better suited to a quiet neighbourhood or an indoor home.”
– CENTRE MANAGER BETH HIXSON