SMOKEY, THE M6 MIRACLE MOG

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Sometime during the day of Friday 23^rd September 2005 a friendly, affectionate young 6 month old kitten was picked up from near his home in Bamber Bridge, Preston, Lancs., and taken approximately one mile away to a bridge above the M6 Motorway close to Junction 29 from where, in the early hours of Saturday, 24^th September 2005, he was cruelly and deliberately thrown from the bridge to the motorway some 60 feet below. Another instance of the increasing level of animal cruelty in our towns and cities and one which would normally have ended there, with the kitten smashed and lifeless on the motorway tarmac. But this kitten was different; this kitten had a charmed life; this kitten did not hit the tarmac but bounced off a car windscreen, the odds against which, at 2 am, must have been phenomenal. The driver, believing at first that he had hit a person, pulled into the hard shoulder and telephoned the police on his mobile phone. A civilian operator took the call and alerted the nearest Veterinary Clinic, Withy Grove Veterinary Clinic of Bamber Bridge,  who quickly attended the scene, took the severely injured kitten to the surgery and made him as comfortable as possible until later in the morning when, with some of the shock worn off, they could sedate and X-ray him. 

The X-rays showed horrific injuries to both elbow joints; the left-hand one was so badly smashed that the only decision possible was to amputate. With only one front leg the kitten had a chance, with none he would have to be put to sleep and, despite the seriousness of the other elbow, it was not as bad as the left one, and the vets decided to give the kitten a chance and try to save it. But first they needed funding and so they telephoned us, the SRPCC Cat Welfare Trust, the charity attached to the South Ribble Pet Cat Club, and asked if we could help. As this is just the sort of case we deal with the answer was an unequivocal “yes” and so the fight to save Gouranga, as he was then called by the vets, began. The left front leg was amputated and the right one was pinned as best they could, despite some of the bone being intact the pin to one side of it only penetrated third of the distance it should due to the injuries, but a part pin was better than no pin at all. Gouranga was made as comfortable as possible and the vets, mindful of the likely cost of saving the little cat who had won everyone’s hearts with his gentle and affectionate nature, offered to go to the local press in the hope of attracting offers of financial help with the ensuing publicity. They could not have foreseen the roller coaster ride that this was to launch.  

The local press published a story and photograph of the little cat with his fetching blue bandage the following Friday but missed the point of us paying the fees altogether, concentrating instead on the cruelty aspect of it and thus introducing into the equation those champions of the fight against animal cruelty, the RSPCA, and, in the process, publishing their details for donations and not the SRPCC. This created a furore of anger amongst the majority of the local cat charities and rescues, most of whom work in harmony and with all of whom we often work. One gentleman telephoned the local paper and tore a strip off the editor, others wrote letters to the paper and the following day another article appeared, not only saying that the civilian police operator who took the call that fateful morning had offered him a home (at this point with no microchip, no collar and no sign of any owner it was assumed that the cat was a stray), but also giving out the SRPCC’s details for donations.

By this time the cat appeared to be surviving but was restricted to a pen at the vets and it was still very much touch and go.

The next day, Sunday,  the owners of the cat, having seen the picture in the local paper, came forward, having been searching for their beloved pet for a week since his disappearance. After much discussion, everyone concerned was satisfied that the owners were the genuine owners, they and the cat seemed to recognise each other and they were willing to do what they could to pay the bill. Their suitability to take on a severely disabled cat was discussed and despite a few reservations it was agreed that, as the true owners, no one actually had the right to refuse them, despite the home offered by the police operator, which had been checked out by Pat and Carol personally the previous Saturday, actually appearing at this stage to be preferable. It was also agreed, however, that the possible future pitfalls and responsibilities were to be strongly emphasized to them. Again we said that we were willing to invite the owners to our home to discuss at length the follow up care etc, the sooner the better.  

That evening the owners, and their two young children, visited and Smokey’s future was discussed at length. They fully accepted that he would never be the same cat he had been, that for his own safety he should not be allowed out again and that especially at first the children would have to keep their distance. Ironically the husband himself had a pin in his leg following a car accident so perhaps had more of an insight than he might have done.They were also willing to do what they could to pay as much of the bill as possible, this, while substantial, had been reduced by donations to the vets,  further donations direct to the SRPCC and would also benefit from a proposed payment to the owners from a magazine interested in the story as part of their animal cruelty articles. In addition a stall at a local flea market run by Pat & Carol's good friend, Christine Lomax of Lancashire Cat Rescue also raised a good sum of money, enhanced by the kindness of Christine in donating the stall free of charge and also allowing publicity for Smokey to be placed on the notice board, thus increasing the amount of donations made to SRPCC on the day. 

So the penultimate phase of the saga of Smokey began. All week it was touch and go, ups and downs. One minute the vets were hopeful, there was some heat in his leg, maybe not as much as they would like, but enough; then there were fears he would not move the leg and seemed depressed, well, wouldn’t you be if you had been stuck in hospital for that long. Then he was brighter and there was hope again; then the wound was not healing. So they removed the dressing and allowed more air to it and it improved. They also removed the dressing to the pinned leg, in the hope it would encourage him to move it but no, he would sit up kangaroo-style, but made no attempt to use the leg or put weight on it. Finally it was all or nothing, the leg HAD to be used, as it was immobile with the pin remaining they would remove the pin, in the hope that the leg had set enough to be stable and that by removing the pin the resulting flexibility in the leg would be the catalyst for Smokey to try it out. There was a collective holding of breath; vets, owners, us…….

SMOKEY "KANGAROO SITTING"

IT WORKED!

 But that was not the end of it, not quite the happy ending it should have been. For now he was moving around and using the leg the vets noticed an unusual rear end gait. All was not well. Smokey had irreparable spinal damage. He was alive, yes, and able to go home, and he would recover to an acceptable degree but he would never again be the lively kitten he once had been, he was an extremely damaged and disabled cat who would need special care for the rest of his life. Were his owners willing and able to cope?  

They were and within days Smokey was allowed home. Still confined initially to one room, still with a fairly open wound that needed attention, still extremely disabled but alive and back with the family he loved and who loved him. All seems well for now but it is still early days, although the owners know they have whatever support they need from us and, if at any time they feel unable to cope with him, they know they need only say the word and an alternative suitable home will be found. But we think they will cope, they certainly love him enough to do so, they were willing to do anything to pay the bill themselves if possible, happily the incredible generosity of local people with donations, and the power of the internet resulting in countrywide sales of items on eBay to raise funds for him, will have reduced that bill down considerably, certainly to a more manageable level. Many an owner would not have come forward, or, having come forward, would have backed out at the size of the potential bill. And even after that, having him home and realising how terribly disabled the cat will be for the rest of his life and the strain of keeping him safe from the active two year old would have put many off. 

The family have remained steadfast in their bid to have Smokey home and home he now is. Maybe not as happy an ending as it could have been but the family are loving and caring and adore him and it is as happy an ending as is possible in the circumstances and nothing short of a miracle as the odds were stacked against Smokey from the minute he was thrown off that bridge and the fact that he survived at all is a credit to the veterinary attention he received but, most of all, to the incredible inner resources and will to live of that amazing little cat, Smokey, the "M6 Miracle Mog"..

SMOKEY BACK AT HOME