The bravest 'brothers'
I’ll get by with a little help from my friend – that’s Cecil’s motto. And, after undergoing life-saving surgery at just two months old, he’s more than getting by – in fact, with brother-from-another-mother Barty by his side, he’s thriving.
Cecil was found at just four weeks old, with two of his siblings, abandoned in a carrier bag outside Blue Cross animal hospital in Merton, south London. In the bag with the tragic trio was a heartbreaking note that read: ‘Help us, we’ve no mother’.
But they had Blue Cross. And Cecil desperately needed our help. The smallest of the siblings, weighing just 330 grammes – the same as a cup and a half of rice – he fitted into the palm of our vet’s hand.
On examination our vet team reaiised Cecil had a rare, congenital deformity called pectus excavatum which meant his rib cage was concave instead of convex, pushing inwards towards his heart and lungs.
“Without help, Cecil’s life would probably have been heartbreakingly short due to his condition,” Senior Vet at Blue Cross Vicky Ebers says. “But the timing of the surgery was critical – we had to balance the anaesthetic risk in such a young kitten against the fact that Cecil needed the operation while his bones were still soft and pliable. And we had to monitor him closely to make sure he was strong enough for surgery.”
Cecil also had swimmer syndrome, dragging himself along on his tummy, legs splayed on either side – like a swimmer, but on land instead of water. It’s a congenital condition caused by under-developed bones and weak muscles.
Amanda Rumball, London Welfare Officer at Blue Cross, fostered Cecil (and his brother Peter and sister Penny), dedicating herself to his care and building up his strength for surgery.
“Cecil followed me everywhere and slept on me – we developed a true bond,” Amanda says. “With Vicky’s guidance, I gave him a few repetitions of physiotherapy multiple times a day. The physio involved a range of movements – gently moving his legs in a bicycling motion to increase flexibility, for example, and softly stretching his limbs. I encouraged him to stand correctly when eating by moving his feet into the correct position. It was amazing how quickly there was an improvement.”
A few days after Cecil, Peter and Penny moved in with Amanda, another foster kitten arrived. Barty had been found wandering alone on a building site and taken to Blue Cross by a kind member of the public. Just four weeks old, the little mite was trying to eat gravel, a possible sign of anaemia.
At Victoria animal hospital he was treated for anaemia and fleas – his tiny little 530-gram body was covered in them. Then Amanda took him home for some TLC and the company of other kittens.
“I introduced them gradually so they weren’t overwhelmed, but Barty was a confident kitten and very happy to have playmates,” Amanda says. “Cecil gravitated towards him immediately. He was smaller than his two siblings and sometimes couldn’t keep up but Barty was small too so they were perfect companions. They became inseparable which was great as it meant we could find Patrick and Penny their forever homes while Cecil, waiting for surgery, had Barty.”
Finally – when Cecil was two months old, weighing 1.725kg and, thanks to physio, able to walk – vets at Victoria animal hospital decided it was time to operate.
“The surgery involved placing stitches through the skin and around the sternum (breastbone) and securing them to an external body cast to pull the bones outward and expand the chest, giving his heart and lungs room to grow,” vet Vicky Ebers says.
The first 24 hours after surgery, with Cecil receiving oxygen therapy, were critical. That night, Amanda couldn’t sleep for worrying about him and she caught the first train into work next morning.
“When he saw me, he snuggled into my hoodie. I sat on the floor with him for a couple of hours while he had a nap – we were so happy to see each other,” Amanda says. “I breathed a sigh of relief knowing he was okay and had got through the op like the little fighter he is.”
Next day, as Cecil was eating well, Amanda took him home.
“I had to keep him in a separate room from Barty to avoid the risk of his cast being caught or ripped,” Amanda says. “The first couple of nights I slept on the floor with him as he was full of energy I was worried about him getting his bandages off. We decided a surgical suit was the only answer. All day Barty sat outside Cecil’s room, patiently waiting to see him. So I allowed them supervised time together. Cecil ran straight over to Barty. Then they groomed each other, ate some food and curled up and napped.”
It was as if Barty knew that Cecil was fragile. But he didn’t have long to wait for his friend to be back in fine fettle.
A month after surgery, with an X-ray showing that Cecil’s chest had, as hoped, expanded outwards giving his chest and lungs space to grow, his cast was removed.
“The surgery was a complete success,” vet Vicky said. “Cecil’s chest will now continue to develop normally.”
He was also neutered – Barty could tell him all about that as he’d had the op a month before.
Then back to Amanda’s to convalesce. Except – with Barty around – there wasn’t much convalescing…
“Cecil and Barty had been through so much and they had an undeniable bond,” Amanda, who knew she had to find them a forever home together, says. “It would had been awful to separate them as they had made it clear they were brothers.”
Fortunately for the boys, cat lover Jen had just moved into a new home with her partner Charlie. And her priority on moving in was to adopt a cat – or two.
“A house isn’t a home without a cat,” Jen says. “When we heard about Cecil and Barty – their tough starts in life and their friendship – our hearts went out to them. Then we saw the pictures of Cecil in his surgical suit, which looked like a baby-grow, and tiny but incredibly fluffy Barty and we knew we’d love to adopt them both.”
So, after 96 days in Blue Cross care, Cecil bade Amanda farewell, ready to start his new life with Barty, who’d spent 95 days in Blue Cross care, by his side. For Amanda, their departure was bittersweet.
“Cecil and Barty were hard to part with,” Amanda admits. “They had become firm favourites in my house. But it’s been a pleasure watching them flourish and with Jen and Charlie they have really landed on their paws. They so deserve their happy ever after.”
And, in their forever home, the friends continue to flourish…
“We originally thought we might need to be a bit careful with Cecil due to his chest condition,” Jen says. “But we checked with Amanda and she said no – he was a perfectly healthy kitten. And it’s true: you’d never know there was anything wrong with him. He runs around with Barty and wrestles with him. They love to body slam each other! They also love chasing each other up and down the stairs: despite being kittens they’re like little elephants stomping around. Their favourite toys are definitely springs. Sometimes they do so much chasing they end up with sweaty paws.”
Cecil and Barty aren’t just boisterous body slamming boys though – they are proper snuggly lap cats too.
“They settled in so quicky – Barty sat on Charlie’s lap on his very first day with us,” Jen says. “I think Amanda showed them so much love and kindness in foster that their scary starts haven’t affected them at all – and of course they have each other to make them feel safe and secure. At night they love to jump up on the bed, make some biscuits, and then settle down for a snuggle”
On the day of our photo shoot Barty, with his silky fur and tail as flouncy as a fox’s brush, was like the cat that got the cream in front of the camera, a natural poseur. He won’t get out of bed for less than 10,000 Dreamies!
“Barty is a flirt,” Jen laughs.
Cecil is less confident. Head tilted and orange eyes huge and wide, he watches Barty playing with us in the front room from a safe vantage point at the top of the stairs. After an hour, his curiosity sparks his courage and he creeps downstairs. A sniff of the camera to make sure its friend and not foe and he’s posing for us too. And he’s so good at it that Barty gets a bit jealous and photo bombs his shots!
From tiny little abandoned kittens to stars of a photo shoot for our supporter magazine Cecil and Barty exemplify why, at Blue Cross, we’re here for every pet. Barty wasn’t Cecil’s only best friend in his time of need – Blue Cross was too.
