Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

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Cussypat1974
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Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Cussypat1974 »

So...... Some of you may remember Hamlet, the orange and white kitten dumped in a box at my old vets, who ended up with me...... A great little chap, who grew up being called "Fatty Ham-ham" as he was always so chubby........

Well, he went missing a while back. No sign of him ANYWHERE, and I was terribly worried as he was a real home bird. I searched and searched to no avail, for a week.

Then, 7 days after he was last seen, we were going to the Supermarket and I spotted something in the neighbouring farmer's field, behind the hedge on our lane. I made hubby stop the car and clambered over the gate as I thought it was Hamlet's dead body.

He was there, with his head stuck fast in an empty dogfood tin..... Still very much alive. I pulled the tin off his head. I carried him home, got him into a carrier, and straight to the emergency vet (it was a Sunday). I held him as a catheter was inserted. He was to be sedated anyway, but his blood pressure was already very low and sedatives would have made it impossible to find a vein, and IV fluids were crucial at this point. He was emaciated and completely dehydrated. He also had maggots in his ears.

I stayed till he was asleep. The vet rang me 15 minutes later. She had shaved him (to check for more maggots). The maggots had eaten him alive. They had literally eaten away his anus and penis. Nothing was left of either. I have seen his medical notes and HORRIFIC is on there in capital letters. So, I told her to go ahead and euthanise him.

Darling Hamlet went through the worst suffering I can possibly imagine. If he had been a Chinese cat, skinned alive, then at least he would have died quicker. His head was stuck in that tin for a WHOLE WEEK. He could only walk backwards. He couldn't hear me calling him. I couldn't hear his cries of pain, fear, agony........ As he was eaten alive.

PLEASE crush all food tins, and break all glass jars before recycling/disposing. I have always done this as my uncle once found a dog with his head stuck in a tin. It is just second nature to me. I don't know where that tin came from. It wasn't the farmer who owns the field (who has stolen one of my cats and put a collar one her).

That farmer ADORES cats, and I have helped him with TNR as he couldn't keep bringing kittens home to sleep on his head.

The worst part? That same farmer saw Hamlet 2 days prior to me finding him. From a distance. He said to his co-worker "there is rubbish in the field, I better go get it", but got too busy and forgot to go pick up the "rubbish". He was so so upset when we told him...... And he now checks for tons and crushes them religiously.......
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bobbys girl
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by bobbys girl »

How very sad, poor Hamlet. :cry:

I learned long ago to keep my car boot shut whenever I'm in my friends garden. I always carry cat food with me (well you never know) and had just fed the Car Park Cats and was working in the garden. I heard a commotion and found 3 of the cats in the back of my car, one with his head stuck in the empty tin. Apart from sticky ears and embarrassment he was fine. But I think we both learned a valuable lesson.
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by nannymcfee »

Oh no that is so sad, poor poor little Hamlet, i had a rabbit once that got fly strike.... we found the maggots quickly but it was a very hot summer, and they too had literally eaten him alive , i rushed him to the vets who cleaned his wound and we brought him back, but the maggots must have got deep into his flesh and started appearing again... maggots are nearly the only living creature that makes me shudder, so i stuck him in a warm bucket of water to try and flush them out again , but to no avail, before rushing back to vets... we had to leave him there :0(..., i also had hedgehogs this last summer with same fly strike, took them to a little rescue sanctuary ...she places them under heat lamps which draw maggots out if they have started turning...

people who leave empty food tins around grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....don't get me started..
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Walesgang »

Mmmmhhh - I don't want to add to the horror stories but we once had a chicken with fly strike too - I was sick

Poor Hamlet
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Topcat10 »

God Bless you beautiful Hamlet. R I P. Let justice be done and sleep in peace little one.
True soul feelings from TC and his Dad.xxx
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by meriad »

I am so very very sorry - poor Hamlet and I'm just glad you found him when he did that he didn't suffer any more :( RIP darling boy

I detest litter of any sort and will always wash and crush my tins before I put them into the recycling bin - for exactly this reason.

(((hug))) this must have been just absolutely awful for you
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Crewella »

That's so sad, but thank goodness you found him and were able to give him some relief. xx

RIP Hamlet.
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Cussypat1974 »

Yes, at least we found him eventually, and ended his suffering. The weather wasn't warm and there weren't many flies about. The vet even said, as I was bringing him in, that we were lucky it wasn't fly season. If the farmer had got to him when he first saw him (not realising it was a cat) then he could probably have been saved.

I feel terrible guilt. I mean, I searched high and low for him, looked in the other neighbour's slurry tank and everything (cats in slurry tanks is another horror story). I know it wasn't my fault..... But the guilt is part of the grieving process I suppose. Rescuing neglected and abused cats means you lose them often, and at young ages. But Hammy was in fine form, although he was always a bit "slow". We used to joke about him being the "stoopie" cat as he was never the brightest. He should probably have gone to an indoor only home, but those are hard to find here. Any good home is hard to find.

He really was a sweetheart of a cat...... His only negative was that you couldn't let him sleep in the room with you, as he would spend half the night crashing around and jumping atop wardrobes to fling himself at light fittings. Stoopie cat! So he was always put out of the room when we were ready for sleep. I feel bad about that now...... :-(
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Crewella »

Don't feel bad - you make such a difference to the lives of all these cats, you can't be expected to give into their every whim. You know better than most of us, I suspect, how a cat really WON'T be found if it doesn't want to be. You tried your best, it was just rotten luck.

With the number of cats you take on, you're bound to have some that don't work out - especially as you take on so many with such a poor start in life. It's been lovely to see you move in and start to enjoy you're new place and be able to help more of them.

You found your 'dream home' just before we found ours - I remember you posting about it when you found it. You kind of inspired me to take on foster cats now that we have more space.
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Cussypat1974 »

I am so so glad you have taken fosters! It doesn't always work out. I want all my charges to lead charmed lives....... But it ain't so. It gets hard though...... Then you start to wonder if you have become hardened. Does that make sense? A friend of mine recently had dealings with a well respected Irish feral sanctuary. It seemed a shambles. Cats didn't even have names :-( I mean..... When naming them stops, then indivuality stops eh?
Gallagher had his own name.
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Cussypat1974 »

And Hamlet certainly did too. Although I winder if I put a hex on hi with that name....... :-( only happy names from now on.
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Crewella »

Hamlet was a lovely name. It actually made me think of the cigar adverts, which is a really positive image. :)

I've been very lucky with fostering. It's a small independent rescue, and I already knew them quite well as I'd adopted my Grumpy Nellie and Merrick from them, and Alpha before that, and I'd been taking pictures of their cats for homing and doing their Cat Chat homing page for some time. They've been hugely supportive and very much taken my advice and feelings into consideration when finding a home for one of my 'charges'.

Sorry - I've taken Hamlet's thread 'off topic'.
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by bobbys girl »

Still off topic I know, but I agree with your comment on naming ferals. I gave names to the Car Park Cats. All the males are ginger and all the females tortie. If I hadn't have named them it would be 'that ginger one, no not that one this one'.

As they patrol my friend's garden I named the twin boys Bob and Wilson (Robert Fortune and Ernest Wilson 2 horticultural heros of mine). The girls are Vicky (Vita Sackville-West) and Blossom. Mum and dad are TC and Mommy (original :roll: ) There are other cats but they are mostly chancers, owned cats out for extra grub!
Cussypat1974
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Re: Sad story of Hamlet (distressing content)

Post by Cussypat1974 »

They NEED names..... Absolutely. Even if that name is a silly one or a boring one. It means SOMEBODY cares enough to take the time to see them as the individual they are. I was on a factory farm this week, but will post about that separately.
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