AN INJURED cat with no one to care for it has been spared a death sentence thanks to offers of help and funding from Malmesbury residents.

The unlucky black and white feline was brought to the vets with a fractured and dislocated jaw and a fractured shoulder blade. The seriousness of its injuries and the costs involved looked to be great enough that the vets considered putting the cat down.

However the cat, named Eric by the team that looked after him at The George Veterinary Group, has now been taken in by Malmesbury resident and cat rescuer Sue Franklin.

Sue said: “I’ve been fostering and re-homing cats for a couple of years and take on anything that’s taken into the vets. After we’d had two particularly smelly tomcats stay my husband built me a small shelter at the bottom of the garden.”

Sue estimates that she has now taken on in the region of 160 cats in the course of her caring career despite not having charity status.

This particular cat has garnered so much attention online that she is setting up an account to receive donations for the cost of his care and medical bills as he recovers, which may be substantial.

Sue added: “He has got a wired jaw, which is all looking good. We’re not sure about the damage to his shoulder because a CT scan is needed.

“The next step is raising enough for a CT scan, which I believe to be in the region of £1,000.”

Eric has been consigned to six weeks of rest in his cage and will receive his CT scan as soon as possible to work out the best way to get him back to his old self.

“He’s really cute and very very affectionate,” she added, “It’s really nice that a lot of people get behind things like this, it is really heart-warming.”

Marketing and resource manager Jason Vernon said that although he was unable to comment on particular cases they did have an influx of attention recently despite taking in animals year-round.

He added: “At this time of year, veterinary practices will see an influx of stray pets often ‘lost’ having been scared away by firework displays.

“Sadly, without a microchip the chances of re-uniting any pet with its owner are greatly reduced; we therefore often rely on the generous nature of a few trusted clients for the re-homing of unclaimed pets, if other avenues fail.”