Bob's community cats vet treatment project

It’s not often nowadays you meet a selfless person who put the needs of others above his own, and whose actions restore your faith in humanity! Being involved in animal rescue we often see the darker side of the coin - abuse, neglect and ignorance towards those who can’t protect or speak for themselves. But every once in a while you come across a unique person with a wonderful heart who gives us all hope.

Recently we met a man who is looking after a colony of 30 stray cats! He is a pensioner and can’t afford to properly heat his house during winter, or to buy better food for himself because he’s spending all his money looking after these cats. The colony he takes care of are a collection of cats who have been abandoned by previous owners, or who were born wild in the area where he lives. He never turns away any cat in need, and has also been known to take in cats that previous owners had wanted to get euthanized.

Bob lives alone and when we came to visit him we were amazed to see how neat and tidy his house is and how everything is set up with the cats in mind. His house is pretty much a five star hotel for the cats. When you talk to him you can tell straight away how much he loves and cares about each and every one of them. The first thing Bob did when he invited us inside was to show us all his photos and videos, both of his current cats and ones that have passed away over the years, as well as sharing their stories with us. He had a big stash of vet books on his table neatly tied together for the 14 of his colony cats that he has already managed to spay/neuter and vaccinate. Inside each book there is enclosed a photo of the cat, as Bob was worried that if something will happen to him, no one will know the names and health history of the cats. When we saw that, it almost brought tears to our eyes! Unfortunately, he’s run out of his savings and his pension is only enough to buy food for all the cats with a little bit left for his own bills and food. But the rest of the cats need to be de-sexed urgently before they will multiply. He has been absolutely worried sick for the past few months at not being able to find a way to take them to the vet to be spayed and neutered.

We would like to ask our wonderful supporters to rescue the man who’s been rescuing cats all his life! It’s hard to estimate the cost of this project, as some of the cats may need additional care beyond de-sexing. Bad teeth will need to be removed if found, some cats may need antibiotics in case of cat flu or eye problem. All cats that we’ve seen so far look absolutely great because Bob takes exceptional care of them, but there are probably some things that we may not have noticed which will only get picked up by our vet.

So we have set up the Givealittle link for Bob and we must reach the necessary amount to be able to help all his cats. He’s done so much for the neighbourhood cats already, and he so deserves it! Some of his wild cats are now almost completely friendly and have moved inside his house permanently. These were not kittens when he first noticed them, but wild adult cats that are really difficult to tame! When we were standing outside looking at some of his happy cats enjoying the sunny day Bob said: “If only I had money I would’ve bought a farm and started my own rescue shelter!” But the fact is, his house is already a shelter for all those poor souls and he is their live-in caretaker. They are so lucky to have Bob taking care of them!

We want to start de-sexing Bob’s cats as soon as possible. We really hope that you will be keen to help us do it by donating towards this project. We intend to keep you updated with the photos of the cats from Bob’s colony that get treated by our vet, so you can see the progress as well as what your donations have helped us to achieve.

Thank you so much guys for opening your hearts and stretching a helping hand to this phenomenal person in our community!