* Winchester found his forever home with lovely people and another cat to be friends with! Yay! *

Winchester was brought to Hamilton Animal Services as a stray. Winchester is already neutered, so he definitely belonged to someone. Not to mention how sweet he is. When he arrived at the shelter, Winchester was favouring his back leg quite a lot. Shelter staff sent Winchester to the vet for xrays. The vet reported: “We have found a fracture to the distal femur with a pellet present.” Someone had shot Winchester and his leg bone was broken clean through. It’s horrifying to think that someone would do such a thing to an innocent animal..but, here we are. Nobody came forward to claim Winchester, and shelter staff asked us for help. We got Winchester out of the shelter and took him straight to our vet. The break is such that he will have to have a pin or a plate put in to repair the bone. He’ll have the surgery done on Monday with a specialist surgeon. Pain medication was started, and Winchester was transferred to his foster home for the weekend.
Winchester was lucky enough to find a foster home with lots of experience with cats and their medical needs, so we know he’ll be well looked after during his recovery. He has already made himself right at home, and is enjoying all the attention he’s getting. Winchester is such a lovely boy, and we know that he will make a wonderful companion for the right person when he is all healed up.

Welcome to Ladybird, Winchester! We’re so happy you’re here!

* UPDATE August 26, 2024 *
Winchester went in for his surgery this morning with a specialist surgeon. He was sedated and xrays were taken to execute a plan for exactly what needed to be done. Turns out, between the time Winchester had the xrays done at the shelter and today, the leg bone had already healed enough that the surgeon would have to re-break the leg to repair it. Because Winchester is so mobile, the decision was made to not perform the surgery after all. A good thing for Winchester to not have to go through everything that would have entailed. He’ll need to be kept from too much strenuous activity (jumping from heights, etc) for the next while, but he doesn’t need any other treatment for now.
As for the pellet – it is imbedded so deeply, removing it would be very difficult, so it will stay. Both vets have assured us that the pellet will not cause any issue for Winchester long-term.
This sweet cat is now back in his foster home, enjoying the comforts and spoiling he is receiving. He’ll go back to the vet in a few weeks to see how his leg is progressing, and we’ll go from there.
Once we know he’s as healthy and healed as he can be, Winchester will be made available for adoption.

Good job, Winchester!

* UPDATE September 17, 2024 *
Winchester had his follow up x-rays yesterday, and the vet gave him the all clear! His leg has healed up wonderfully, and doesn’t require surgery. Yay! With that, Winchester is now ready to find his forever home!
Winchester is a friendly and active boy. He loves toys and he would do best with people who will take the time to engage him in play. When play time is over, he makes himself comfy in a lap. He can be independent, but he’s also quite the cuddler! Winchester gets along with the other cats in his foster home, but he hasn’t met any dogs since being in our care, so we can’t say how he would be with dogs.
Winchester is a wonderful cat, and he deserves a loving forever home after all he has been through.

* UPDATE September 29, 2024 *
Winchester found his forever home with lovely people and another cat to be friends with! Yay!