William's Appeal

This is William and this is his story ... A little kitten, thought to be about 6 weeks old, was found by the nice bin men in Brentwood amongst stinking rotten rubbish. They scooped him up and as his little body was so lifeless, they took him for dead. But, on the journey to the nearest vet for the disposal of his tiny body, they saw that he was in fact breathing!     Once at the vet he was quickly cleaned up and assessed. He was very, very sick. They did what they could for him then phoned Jennie, the warden at PussyCat Lodge. She found a foster home for him with Jane, who called him William, and hoped that with rest and loving care he would recuperate.   Despite lots of care, he didn't make very good progress, however, and could not lie down, even to sleep, as he was having so much trouble breathing. He was taken to Clarendon House veterinary surgery where it was advised that he should see a vet at a specialist veterinary centre at Newmarket. Throughout his ordeal, little William still purred and padded his paws whenever anyone cuddled him. Although we knew the cost that would be incurred was very great, we had to give this brave little kitten a chance. We set up an appeal to raise the money to pay for his treatment. The first donation was from Jennie's grand-daughter who gave the £25 she was going to spend on Jennie's Christmas present that year.   In December 2004, at the age of 16 weeks, William went to Newmarket where the specialist operated on him and removed a large polyp from under his palate. For the first time in his life he could breathe properly. In March 2005, Jane noticed that William had a head tilt and was falling over. William then had to have his second operation to remove the rest of the polyp which was in his middle ear. This has left him with a permanent head tilt and a squint in his eye which was caused by nerve damage during the operation. The vets said this will rectify itself after 4 months. This second operation cost over £1000. All the money for the operations has been met by the fund set up by Jane. A big thank you to: Mo Vincent, Chairman of the Essex Cat Club - £610.50 was raised at the Essex Cat show £100 of that was given by Bob Towner of R & L Pet Products (he had a stall at the show) Val from Rochester has given another £200 Sam Harris - £20 Dorothy (volunteer at Wood Green Animal Shelter) - £5 Sue Wells (friend of Christine Roche) - £40 Avril Hammond - £15 Chris Roche and work colleagues - £30 Mo Vincent - £120 Delphine White - £10 Mrs Grant - £20 Frances Reeves - £50 Sandie Kilmen - £20 Members of the Essex Cat Club - £67 Olive Eastoe - £100 Tony Warn - £50 Mrs A Clarke - £70 Mrs J Holland - £20 Margaret Hamilton - £10 Violet Sherwood - £50 Joyce Oliver - £10 J Hawthorne - £25 Sorry if I have missed anybody out!   Copyright Essex Chronicle Jane Regan, William and the manager of the pet shop that held an appeal for William Unfortunately a few weeks ago, Jane noticed a discharge from William's ear and he started to shake his head. Our vet made another referral back to Newmarket and William is going for his appointment soon. We all hope William doesn't have to have any more operations. Jane Regan, June 2005

Update - September 2005

William had to visit the vets in Newmarket for the 3rd time in July. Jane had noticed that there was pus coming out his right ear. She could also see the end of a large pink polyp. The polyp had to be removed resulting in William having over 30 stitches! He had to stay in for a few days to make sure it healed properly. His specialist vet, Andy Sparks, hopes this will be the last ever polyp he has to remove. This operation cost over £650. William didn't like wearing his blue collar which was to stop him scratching his stitches. It didn't stay on for long and it lasted for just an hour before he managed to get out of it!  William modelling his collar William is now partially deaf due to the problem with his ears. This doesn't stop him doing anything and he is still very full of mischief. The squint in his eye has almost disappeared. His left ear is full of wax and Jane needs to wait until his other ear has healed before she tackles the job of pinning him down. William is growing and really filling out and will soon be a big ginger cat. William in the bird house Jane has since been able to clean William's ears but he has now got wise that mummy holding him means ears being cleaned, so hides from Jane which she finds very upsetting. The pus in his right ear hadn't cleared up at all, as it should. While cleaning his ears she noticed a small pink patch - another polyp. Jane was so upset as at the last visit the vet had assured her that it wouldn't grow back. William went back to the vets on 8th September: the vet couldn't believe there was another polyp and thought he may not have entirely removed the last one. William now is due back for his 4th operation! William posing I would like to thank all his sponsors as without your generosity William wouldn't be with us now: Mrs Dorothy Brownbridge, £10 and Joyce Oliver, £10. So far his treatment has cost £2,250. He is the dearest kitten with such a big personality and the biggest purr you ever heard! He has been through so many operations in his short life and will always need his ears cleaned. William relaxing If you would like to make a donation towards William's care, please send your cheque made payable to Jane Regan in an envelope marked William's Appeal. Thank you for your kindness.