Susan

About Susan

May live with: Adults and older children, No other pets

💙 SUSAN’S STORY: THE CAT WE REFUSED TO GIVE UP ON 💙

Some rescue stories stay with you forever, and Susan’s is one we will never forget. 🥹

Susan came into our care as a stray after giving birth in a garden. One of our wonderful volunteers rescued her and her four newborn babies. When four more tiny kittens were found abandoned in a plastic bag, two went to another mum, while Susan welcomed the other two into her family as her own.

Suddenly, this beautiful girl was caring for SIX tiny babies and being an incredible mum to them all. ❤️

Then came a shocking twist.

During what should have been a routine vet check, we were told Susan had heart failure and end-stage kidney disease. The recommendation? Euthanasia that very day.

We were horrified. We simply couldn’t understand how this devoted mum could suddenly be considered beyond help. We refused to give up on her. 💙

The vet practice kept Susan and her kittens there for around THREE hours with their fosterer and did not want to let them leave. We were told Susan was too unwell and should be euthanised that day and they would find someone to hand-rear her kittens. We were confused, how could we now be faced with these kind of decisions. In the end we had to insist on taking them all home and sign a disclaimer confirming we were going against veterinary advice to euthanise Susan.

We made the decision that as long as Susan wasn’t suffering, even though she may only have a short time left she deserved the chance to spend that time doing what she clearly wanted to do — giving her six babies the very best start in life. She had already been through so much, and we simply couldn’t take away that chance without giving her an opportunity. We would of course have rushed her to our regular vet immediately if we thought she was suffering in any way 💙

And what happened next? Susan carried on being the wonderful mum she’d always been! She cared for all six kittens beautifully, gained weight with good food and showed no signs of the devastating illnesses we’d been warned about.

When she was later checked by our regular vets, we were relieved to discover that her blood tests were perfectly normal. Even more incredibly, after multiple checks and a scan, our vets could find absolutely no signs of heart failure or any underlying heart condition.

We were overjoyed! And also very confused!

We may never know why the original findings and diagnosis were so concerning, but we’re incredibly grateful we gave Susan the chance she deserved. She was initially underweight, but had been straying and had 6 nursing kittens under 2 weeks old. She was also stressed at being at the vets and it was very hot weather. But markers showing as so unwell that euthanasia was suggested in what was actually a healthy cat still confuses us 💔

🐈‍⬛🖤 But now is Susan’s turn to have the loving perfect future she very nearly missed out on!

This gorgeous British Blue girl is around 3–4 years old, lovely and friendly, and ready to find a forever home of her own.

Susan has now been spayed and microchipped and has started her vaccinations.

She must be the only pet, as she doesn’t enjoy the company of other animals.

An indoor-only home is preferred, ideally with a cat-proof balcony. A secure private garden may be considered with supervised garden access only. She must not roam freely outdoors.

Susan has spent so much of her life surviving and caring for others. Now she deserves a safe home, a cosy bed and someone who will cherish her forever.

Could you be the happy ending this brave girl deserves? 💙

Homing requirements: Catio or cat proofed garden, Indoors only

As written by Croydon Animal Samaritans.