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Let this Christmas be the cat’s whiskers with our
Meow-ry Christmas Cat Kringle!


Fe’line hopeful this Christmas? Us too! Christmas is a time for giving and never giving up.

Each year we get great joy in seeing many of the sick and vulnerable cats and kitties that come through our door leave transformed as happy whiskered wonders ready for their new homes.

This warms our hearts, as we do everything in our power to ensure all the cats in our care have the opportunity, to experience a loving home come Christmas.

Our commitment can be seen in the contented purrs and playful antics of little Toby, sociable Harry and wise Agatha who we had the privilege of caring for this year. Our veterinary team went above and beyond to support these very sick cats to reach their full potential. Thanks to this specialised care these moggies will have their best Christmas yet in safe and happy homes.

Meet the three special cats that have been on this journey with us.

Toby’s Story

A five month old cream tabby male kitten

Time Spent at the Shelter: 93 days.

Personality: Affectionate, cuddly kitten who wants to be surrounded by human company around the clock! He loves food and is always trying to steal his foster parent’s dinner

Background: In mid-July, Toby was surrendered by a member of the public who had developed an allergy to cat fur.

Upon arrival, it was discovered that little Toby was severely constipated and dehydrated. A series of x-rays showed why his tiny body was in such incredible pain.

Toby immediately went into foster care (with the Society Shelter Manager!) so he could be closely monitored and receive 24/7 care. When he first arrived at his foster home, he was always crying due to being in pain but as he slowly recovered the crying stopped and he was happiest being given cuddles on the couch!

Treatment: Little Toby underwent uncomfortable enemas every couple of days, and sometimes daily depending on the amount of faeces he had managed to pass on his own. There was a fear the condition would cause a rectal prolapse or even develop into megacolon, if not managed correctly. Toby was being given subcutaneous fluids and medications to help soften his stools. A special diet was introduced to aid his digestion issues.

By the end of August, little Toby’s condition had improved slowly but surely, and most days he was passing faeces unaided. He had been putting on weight and was ready for his routine desexing surgery.

Shelter Life: Little Toby remained in foster care for the following month to ensure he recovered well from his surgery and his condition continued to improve, while the dose of medication he was on was being strategically decreased.

Toby’s Happily Ever After: Toby was returned to the Shelter from his foster home and shortly after getting the tick of approval from our vet team, was quickly adopted into his furever home. Toby is now doing fantastic and spends his days trying to steal his humans food, playing or simply snoozing on his owners lap.

You can gift a Cat Kringle donation to help a kitten like Toby here.

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Harry’s Story

An eighteen month old ginger and white tabby male

Time Spent at the Shelter: 221 days.

Personality: Cheeky people loving cat who adores attention and has a penchant for stealing pumpkin soup!

Background: Harry arrived at the Shelter in March severely underweight and with a deep infected wound from where his collar had been trapped under his front leg. Despite having a collar, Harry had no microchip and his owner was never found.

Treatment: While being assessed for an anaesthetic to examine this wound, his breathing was noted to be abnormal and a chest radiograph (x-ray) was taken. This showed a diaphragmatic hernia-a hole in the muscle that divides the chest and abdomen-which allows the abdominal contents to enter the chest. Some cats with a diaphragmatic hernia have just a liver lobe or two that slip through this hole. Harry had greatly over-achieved, and every abdominal organ that could possibly move had relocated into the chest (stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder, spleen and pancreas). Harry’s heart and lungs were none too happy about this invasion, especially as every time he tried to eat they’d get even further squashed.

Harry was taken to surgery and the hernia was repaired. As the chest is open during this procedure, a nurse had to carefully ‘breathe’ for him until the hole in the diaphragm was closed. As soon as he was awake he was eating with new found enthusiasm and has shown great dedication to the worthy art of food consumption ever since (including being caught cleaning out the vet’s bowl of pumpkin soup at lunch one day)!

Harry recovered well from the hernia repair but, although no longer infected, the collar wound wouldn’t completely heal as the injury had destroyed the normal pocket of skin a cat’s elbow sits in (this pocket is partly responsible for a cat’s ability to land safely from relatively great heights). A visiting specialist surgeon repaired this and it healed beautifully. Harry managed to further extend his stay by developing a skin condition. This eventually settled well with medical treatment and a change of diet.

Shelter Life: Harry stayed in the Shelter vet clinic during his treatment and became a firm favourite. While life in the vet clinic isn’t for every cat, Harry revelled in the attention and, although initially timid, he blossomed into a confident young cat who would greet people as they arrived in the clinic and would happily sit on the top of his scratching post for hours watching the team work. He particularly liked morning tea when all his humans would stop and gather round, seemingly for the sole purpose of adoring him as he sat amongst the team.

Harry’s Happily Ever After: Following treatment Harry went to stay with a foster carer. Unsurprisingly they fell in love with him and once his skin problem had fully resolved they were able to adopt him. The vet team miss his company in the clinic but are delighted this special cat has found his furever home.

You can gift a Cat Kringle donation to help an adult cat like Harry here.

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Agatha’s Story

A twelve year old tabby and white female

Time Spent at the Shelter: 47 days.

Personality: A wise senior cat who enjoys cuddles.

Background: In mid-August, Agatha was surrendered by a member of the public who was no longer able to care for her due to a change in personal circumstances. Upon arrival, it was discovered that Agatha required extensive dental work. Being an older patient, a urine sample was also taken, identifying that Agatha had other issues that needed blood tests. Further tests revealed that poor Agatha sadly had renal failure.

Treatment: Agatha’s blood results showed some changes that were cause for concern. Agatha was rather nervous and didn’t seem to be happy in the Shelter’s care. Her bloods were marked for repeating; once she had settled in a little.
Upon repeat of Agatha’s bloods, a week or so later, she was officially diagnosed with chronic renal failure. With this in mind, Agatha underwent her much-needed dental procedure being monitored closely by our veterinary team while under anaesthetic. She recovered and her gums healed well from the extractions.

Shelter Life: By this time, Agatha had spent a month or so in the Shelter’s care and had begun to show huge improvement in trusting the Shelter team and her temperament was shining through. She was loving the interactions and enjoying cuddles with the staff. It was time to determine a suitable future pathway for Agatha.

Agatha’s Happily Ever After: It was decided that given her chronic condition requiring a special diet, Agatha would be an appropriate candidate for our permanent foster care program. A suitable foster carer was quickly found and Agatha will be able to live comfortably for the rest of her life.

You can gift a Cat Kringle donation to help a senior cat like Agatha here.

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When a new cat first arrives at the Shelter they receive the following care:

  • A full veterinary assessment to ensure they are in good health, are desexed, microchipped and checked that they are up to date with their vaccinations.
  • Placed in the hands of our experienced and nurturing shelter team who spend time with them playing and interacting to understand their personality and type of home they will thrive best in.
  • Entered in our adoption shelter where they continue to receive plenty of enrichment and remain under the watchful eye of both our shelter and veterinary team to ensure they remain in good health and aren’t stressed within their new environment.

On average in 2021 the cats in our care spent 21 days with us before finding their happily furever homes. This cost approximately $600 per cat or kitten. However, for cats like Toby, Harry and Agatha who need significantly more care and often stay for a much longer period the cost is much higher.

If it wasn’t for you, our loyal cat-loving community, there is no way we could provide the high level specialised care we do to cats like Toby, Harry and Agatha. The Society receives no government funding to support our work and relies solely on your donations.

We would love it if you could join us in experiencing the joy of giving at Christmas. We ask you to take part in our Meow-ry Christmas Cat Kringle.

In doing so, you can choose whether your Cat Kringle gift is donated to a kitten like Toby, an adult cat like Harry or a senior cat like Agatha.

Or if you have considered adoption and would love to open your home and heart up to a cat in need this Christmas, you can view our cats currently awaiting adoption into their furever home.

Your support will help us achieve our goal of ensuring all the cats in our care have their best Christmas yet in a loving new home.

From our family at the Society (and our many paws) to yours, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and wish you a very
Meow-ry Christmas and a Catty New Year!

I would like to make a Meow-ry Christmas Cat Kringle Donation

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