Fly on a Cat

There was a cat called Wynnie. She was neglected by her owners and left to her own devices. As she grew older, life became harder and harder, struggling for survival, sheltering anywhere that she could, grabbing any food that she came across, drinking rainwater out of a rusty old tin. It was a long hot summer. Wynnie grew weary, she spent her days under a tree, mostly sleeping, very weak. Flies hung around in hordes. Wynnie notice a young girl passing by once or twice a week,, and the young girl introduced herself as Angel. As Angel spoke gently, and didn't try to pick Wynnie up, she soon learnt to trust her, and see her as a friend, not someone who would hurt her. Gradually, Wynnie let Angel stroke her. That felt nice. Not all humans are bad thought Wynnie.

The sun beat down, water was getting scarcer. The flies were very irritating. One day, as Wynnie went in search of food, she caught her leg on some wire. Ouch that hurt. She limped back to her spot, under the tree. She was very weak, her leg hurt, she didn't think she could walk. The flies smelled the wound on Wynnies paw. Flies being flies, saw this as an opportunity to lay eggs. They circled in, and deposited eggs in Wynnies paw. Oh, this is bad, thought Wynnie.

The pain got worse.

A car pulled up nearby. Angel got out. "Hello Wynnie" said Angel. Wynnie could barely lift her head, please help thought Wynnie. She gathered all her strength and limped over to Angel. "oh, you poor thing" said Angel "you don't look well". With that Angel got back in her car and left. Wynnie was very sad and very much in pain.

A while later another car pulled up. Wynnie raised her head, it was Angel and her friend Lila. They had brought a cat basket with them. They picked Wynnie up and put her in the basket. Wynnie was too weak to put up a struggle, she just thought 'whatever happens, I trust Angel and Lila seems OK too'.

They took Wynnie to the vets. Upon inspection, they saw that maggots had hatched out in Wynnies paw. They were horrified. The vet reassured them that Wynnie could be treated and would be well again. Wynnie was left at the vets, and over the next few days received treatment for her paw, her dehydration, fleas, worms, malnourishment. Slowly she began to feel better. On the third day, Angel and Lila came to the vets to take Wynnie. Wynnie did not know where, or what to expect. they took her to their home. Wynnie knew straight away, that however strange this seemed, she was safe. And she was right. She had a lovely warm, soft bed to sleep in, regular food, plenty of fresh water. Angel and Lila made a fuss of her, but only when Wynnie was in the mood for fuss. let's not forget, she was an old girl, and now that she had a lovely home, she didn't always want to be disturbed! this was the place that Wynnie was going to live the rest of her life, being cared for and loved. She was so happy about this. She had two wonderful friends Angel and Lila, and plenty of other cats and dogs around for company if she ever felt like it!

This blue Vest is a tribute to Wynnie. Here she wears a fly as a decoration, it is no longer a threat, it cannot hurt her, she is very safe and very happy.