THE STORY OF CHARLIE CHAPLIN

March 2024 to April 2025

White and black male, 10+ years old.

This is the story of the incredibly brave Charlie Chaplin, told my his foster mum Rachel.

Charlie Chaplin had a very tough life until he made it to PCL. He once had a home, however his owners moved just one mile away and chose to leave him behind. Apparently to them he was ‘just a cat’. To us, he is so much more.

After numerous attempts by Anna Seymour at Cats Gallore, and with the help of the members of Lost and Found pets in Hainault, Chigwell and surrounding areas (her FB group with Karen West), Charlie was finally trapped in March 24 after fending for himself on the local streets for TWO years. He was in a very bad way. His white fur was grey and matted, he had injuries, and his mouth was in a terrible state. He must have been in so much pain and distress. Left any longer and it would have been very difficult for him to eat - and he LOVES his food!

Charlie spent SEVEN days at the vets, where his body had to be fully shaved to get rid of all the matted fur, his injuries were treated, he was neutered, flea and worm treated, FIV tested (negative), and had to have SEVENTEEN teeth removed. Charlie was very aggressive and deemed to be feral, semi-feral at best. His age was estimated at 8-10 years. Far too old to be suffering on the streets the way he had been. Luckily for him, this was just the beginning of a new chapter for him.

Anna kept him with her, helping him to recover, until mid-May when Andrea had space for him in the feral pen at Pussycat Lodge as it was very likely he would be a long-term resident. This created a dilemma for us. We did not feel a feral or semi-feral home would be suitable now due to his age, and lack of mousing capabilities 🐭! But Charlie’s aggressiveness was likely to rule out a domestic home…

Charlie settled in well at PCL, although not approachable, and very difficult to handle. His fur grew back nicely and he looked so much better however, by September 2024, it became apparent that he was in pain again, so off he went to the vet. His gums were very inflamed and he had to have even more teeth removed, followed by medication to try and get the inflammation in his mouth under control. At this point I took him in as a foster to monitor him and also assess if there was any possibility of him adjusting to a human companion.

Charlie spent a lot of time hissing at me! The first time I attempted to touch him he turned very nasty, clearly terrified of any contact. Who knows what he went through, but it clearly left him very traumatised. However... after a few weeks of me sitting and talking to him.... he started to talk back!

So, despite his feral behaviour to date, I decided to move him from the huge crate I had been monitoring and treating him in, to a smaller one (so he would feel secure) but with the run of my foster room, should he wish to venture out. Of course I made sure he had limited places to hide so he couldn't avoid interacting with me totally! It was only then that his rehabilitation really started.

With this new set up, I could sit near him on his level, talk to him, and tempt him out of his hidey bed with fresh chicken. I also tried playing with him to tap into his natural hunter instincts, a technique to try and help felines feel at home by following their natural rhythm of hunt-kill-eat-sleep. This failed dramatically as he was just terrified of the small dangler toy! It was then I realised the way to his heart would be through food....

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It was a slow process, but so rewarding for us both; Charlie because he got lots of chicken, and for me as I could see him gradually understanding that he was safe, and I wasn't going to hurt him. I longed to be able to stroke him, and to show him how much he was loved, but I didn't want to scare him (or to get scratched!) so kept being patient. Then, one evening, I put my big girl pants on and approached very gently, talking quietly to him. I slowly reached out to him in his hidey bed and started to stroke his forehead. I expected him to pull away, but instead he started to PURR!

I cannot put the emotion I felt in to words. It was so unexpected I welled up with joy! Then he hissed at me 🤣!

However, I went back in and he just led there purring away in his safe space. This is when I knew he wasn't feral at all, just very shut down from whatever trauma he had suffered. Underneath all of that was a very loving boy, who just needed time and love.

From then on he continued to progress. Gradually coming out of his safe space to take chicken from my lap, and letting me stroke him when he was focused on his food.

The process was now all about getting him used to human love and touch, which he enjoyed, but was still very wary of..

At this point Charlie’s mouth and gums were still inflamed, despite being on Metacam. Over the next few months, he had dental x-rays, steroids, antibiotics, probiotics and L-Lysine supplements to try and get this resolved and determine the root cause. After running blood tests, we discovered Charlie has Calicivirus and would need long term Metacam (anti-inflammatory medication) and monitoring to keep the inflammation at bay. During these few months we kept bonding and by January 2025 he had fully decompressed.

He progressed from purring in the safety of his carrier, to enjoying head rubs out in the open, lying next to me, to sitting half on my lap, to full on strokes, dribbling and lap love! Instead of hissing at me when I went near him, he would come out to greet me with big meows and demand head rubs. His transformation was just incredible and so heart-warming.

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Charlie went up for adoption in Feb 2025 however by this point I had fallen madly in love with this courageous boy so was felling very particular about when I wanted him to go! After speaking with a few potential homes, who turned out not to be suitable, I had a call in March from a wonderful lady called Suzanna. Not only did my instincts tell me she was his perfect person, she also lived just 10 minutes from me! She was very understanding of Charlies condition, his need for ongoing medication, and at least an annual trip to the vet for blood tests due to this. Suzanna had fully researched Calicivirus even before she called me, so I just knew he would be in the best hands. Needless to say we arranged for Suzanna and Charlie to meet, and it was love at first sight - for both of them!

With the help of some cooked chicken, it wasn’t long before Charlie was sitting on her lap too! Although it was wonderful to see just how far he had come, I have to admit I also felt just a little miffed that I clearly wasn’t as special to Charlie as I thought I was! Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite ready for adoption as I was currently giving him ear drops for a yeast infection, and he needed two more teeth extracted, despite all our efforts to save them, so Suzanna and her family visited Charlie in my foster room often so he could start to trust them too. I was so worried he would regress when he moved to a new home, as he had now been settled with me for 6 months. During this time he continued to trust me and had actually moved from sleeping in his hidey bed, to near it, to feeling safe enough to be out in the open on top of his cat tree!

Needing comfort after his final dental

After his ear infection was cleared, his final dental was completed, and Charlie had finished a 7-day course of eye drops for an ulcer (as if he hadn’t been through enough!), he was as ready as he would ever be for the move to his forever family. I took him on the 10th April, spent over an hour settling him in, and cried all the way home. Despite knowing he would have the best life in his new home, much more enriched than I could give him in my foster room, I found it incredibly hard to leave him. However.....Charlie Chaplin is absolutely THRIVING with Suzanna and her family. Here is an update from June 2025 from his new home:

Charlie settled in quickly and made our spare room his own. After a few weeks we started feeding him supper downstairs to encourage him to explore more; two days later he appeared downstairs to find out what was for lunch, and the next day appeared for breakfast too! He has explored the house to find new places to tuck himself away but can always be relied on to pop out when he hears the rustle of silver foil potentially signalling a chicken treat (he loves his food!). He's had such a difficult time, but despite all he's been through, he is the most loving cat. We've spent hours sitting on the floor with him on our knees - he has had to learn the signal for when he finally must move because our legs have gone to sleep! He is growing braver daily, and we are building up our understanding of how best to keep him happy and healthy, whilst spoiling him absolutely rotten.

Charlie Chaplin travelled a long road from being rescued, to full recovery from his injuries and trauma, to living his best life in his wonderful forever home. He now finally understands what it feels like to be safe and unconditionally loved. He even jumps up on the bed now and relaxes if his breakfast isn't ready! His transformative story shows what can happen when rescues and supporters work together, help each other, and NEVER GIVE UP.