Stanley

One evening during a heavy storm, a lady rang us to say she could see something in a storm drain and was worried that it looked to be a live animal. Helen, who hadn’t long been here, said she would go and have a look and if she needed help then, her partner Lee could assist. When Helen arrived, she saw that it was indeed a cat that was stuck in the drain and it was rapidly filling with water. With Lee there they were able to reach the cat and pull it from the drain. They brought the cat to the sanctuary, which was male and naturally he was very frightened and soaking wet. We began to dry him which took a long time but he could see that we were helping him and as he was also very fatigued it made it easier for us. He had sustained an injury but the wound was manageable and once we’d dried him, we put him in a cage with a heat pad under his bed. He was grateful to be safe in the warmth and slept off his ordeal. Once he was awake, he ate well and we were confident he would be ok. He wasn’t neutered or chipped and wasn’t reported missing and as the days went on, we could see there was a slight feral streak appearing as he gained his strength and was starting to feel better.
We called him Stanley and during the day he was coming out of his cage and spending time in the kitchen and utility room. It was at the same time that we had a large number of kittens who were sleeping in a cage next to Stanley at night. Stanley took a great interest in them and during the day, he began sitting and eating with them. When it came to night time, we thought it was a shame to separate them so Stanley stayed with the kittens and following that, they have looked at Stanley as a father figure. Stanley has now really settled down and still keeps an eye on the growing kittens. He is cautious of people and regularly shows that there is a feral streak in him, but he is happy to remain in the kitchen and likes to see the comings and goings, whilst also going out for walks during the day. He is a lucky cat and we’re thankful that the lady spotted him and rang us, otherwise Stanley wouldn’t be here today!