18 March 2022

With many hundreds of animals coming through RSPCA WA’s doors every year, there are interesting stories around every corner. These are four of our favourites from recent weeks that challenged or surprised the vets and inspectors. Your support made treatment and care possible for Gary, Smooche, Busy and Dixie.   

 

   

Gary's identity crisis

Gary was just going about his business being a cat in Kalgoorlie, until one day he shocked his owners by falling pregnant. Gary was a Gabrielle! The family had been gifted Gary six months prior by a friend, who told them he was a male (talk about a crash course in the importance of desexing and containing your cat!)

The family recognised they were unable to care for a pregnant cat and new litter, so called RSPCA’s Goldfields inspector for help.

Inspector Fiona transported Gary to Perth and arranged a foster carer so she could receive proper care and give birth in comfort. Two weeks later, three tiny kittens arrived in the middle of the night. Part of the birth was captured on camera. If you're interested, watch here. 

Gavin, Gloria and Gwen were just adorable, and definitely kept their carer on her toes as they grew into cheeky little characters. After several months in care, the whole family was desexed, microchipped, vaccinated and quickly adopted out into loving new homes.

 

Smooche the floof 

Smooche might just be the fluffiest bun RSPCA vets have ever seen.

She was surrendered during the height of summer with a terribly  overgrown and matted coat.

She was so hot and bothered, vets decided her haircut simply couldn’t wait.  

For over an hour, they painstakingly brushed and clipped Smooche’s coat to free her from discomfort.

By the end, they had a whole rubbish bin brimming with offcuts–it was astounding to think how much excess hair she’d been carrying around.  

We’re happy to say that Smooche recovered nicely and was soon made available for adoption with her best bun friend, Pooki.

  

 

Busy's birth comes down to the wire

This was a rescue just in the nick of time.

Busy was ready to burst when she was handed over to a regional RSPCA inspector.

Within minutes of arriving in her foster home, Busy went into labour, welcoming a whopping 15 healthy pups to the world. 

At their very first weigh-in at a week old, the smallest of the 10 boys and five girls was a teeny 409g, and the biggest a chonky 710g (someone had clearly been hogging the milk!).

Now four weeks old, the pups have found their voices and are causing mayhem in their regional foster home. They will remain in care a while longer before finding loving new homes locally.

  

  

Dixie's tricky problem 

Poor Dixie arrived with a medical issue that was pretty unique, and a little embarrassing.

It all started when vets noticed the one-week-old’s penis was inflamed and sore, so they ordered tests to check for infection. Soon after, staff realised the poor chap wasn’t having any luck in the litter tray.

Further exams revealed he was suffering with “Orphaned Kitten Prepuce Syndrome”, which in simple terms means the hole he should have been urinating out of was just too small.

The poor love was booked in for surgery, where vets took on the super delicate task of correcting his problem. Everything went well, and you can imagine the relief for both us and Dixie when he was finally able to relive himself properly.

After several weeks of TLC, Dixie was happy, healed and ready for his forever home. With a face like that, it’s no surprise he was quickly adopted by an amazing family. 

 

 

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