Infected abandoned cat found at Aylesbury Vale beauty spot saved by rescue team

A young white cat named Brie, who was on the brink of death when spotted in a remote part of Ivinghoe Beacon, life has been transformed, the RSPCA reports.

Someone walking their dog at the Chilterns beauty site spotted Brie in some bushes in August last year in woodland. The RSPCA became aware of Brie’s struggles when a post on Facebook was sent to the animal wellness charity.

Brie was covered in fly eggs and the RSPCA says that eating these can have fatal consequences for felines.

Kate Wright, a fosterer for the RSPCA Bedfordshire South Branch, said: ““When we tried to approach Brie, she was very nervous and kept moving off so we set a cage trap and waited. Frustratingly she kept sitting on top of the cage instead of getting inside it! “Eventually, it started getting dark so I sat down on the grass nearby and carefully shuffled along the ground, inching closer and closer, and not looking directly at her so as not to scare her off. This seemed to work and I called her over and spoke gently to her. She let out this pitiful meow and came running over to me! She rubbed her head against me and jumped in my lap and I was so relieved - and I could tell she was so relieved too.”

RSPCA responders found that Brie was covered in fly eggs and had maggots crawling all over her, but Kate could not see any wounds making treatment difficult. Brie was also quite underweight and very dirty, the RSPCA adds.

Kate added: “She was found close to a well known car park and bus stop area away from any houses. We don’t know how she got there but we fear someone pulled into the car park and drove off leaving her behind. It's not an area she would likely be able to get to herself, especially in her condition - so we think she was abandoned because she was so poorly.”

RSPCA vets confirmed that Brie had a uterus infection called pyometra. RSPCA studies found that her uterus was so full of pus it weighed a third of her whole body weight. Brie had to undergo an emergency spay and she slept for three days straight after the surgery but then started to recover well.

Kate added: “Pyometra is a nasty infection which impacts unneutered cats. She probably had kittens at some point but then got an infection. It’s very sad because this never would have happened if she had been neutered right away. One of the best things you can do for your cat’s health and to reduce the strain on rescue centres is to neuter your cat from four months old as some can get pregnant even as young as this.”

The vet who examined Brie confirmed that if the one-year-old cat had been left any longer then she would have died from the infection or from the maggots which had started to eat away at her.