A young cat in need of major surgery to correct a painful hernia landed a Kent charity with a hefty bill and has led them to launch a community appeal.

The cat was brought to Cats Protection’s Swale Branch as a suspected stray. He had been trying to make himself at home in a garden for several months but, as he wasn’t accepted by the other cats in that household, it was decided that the best option was to call in the cat care team.

Enquires in the neighbourhood to trace an owner were unsuccessful, so the cat – who has been named Brewster by his rescuers – was handed over to Cats Protection. As he had not been microchipped and no similar cat had been reported as lost, it was not possible to trace Brewster’s owners.

Soon after coming into care, it was noticed that Brewster, who is believed to be around two-years-old, was having trouble breathing so a vet was called to give him a thorough health check. Thankfully they did, as X-rays revealed that Brewster had a diaphragmatic hernia that was putting pressure on his lungs and needed urgent medical attention to give Brewster a chance of survival.

Branch Co-ordinator Marlene Bradfield said: “Brewster’s hernia is as nasty as it sounds and he needed to be operated on as soon as possible. It was a complex operation and we thought for a moment we might lose him but our vet did an amazing job in saving Brewster.

“We knew it would be a long and expensive process to get Brewster back on his feet, but he’s only two years old and the vet said his young age meant that he should recover well. The poor boy has been through a journey already but we wanted to do all we could to give him a fighting chance of a happy and healthy life.”

Thankfully, the operation was a success and Brewster is becoming more friendly and confident, enjoying playtime as well as lots of cuddles and strokes. He has also discovered the comfort of sleeping with his head on a little pillow, Marlene said.

While he’s on the road to a full recovery, the intensive care needed so far has cost £2,000, which has left Cats Protection’s Swale Branch with a significant dent in its finances.

Marlene said: “Brewster’s costly treatment comes at a time when our reserves are lower than usual. We haven’t been able to fundraise as we would normally so we’re appealing to our supporters to help fund the operation and care for Brewster and others like him. Any donation big or small will really help us continue to care for local cats in need.”

Volunteers have launched an appeal to pay for the operations and aftercare to nurse Brewster back to full health: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/swale-catsprotection-brewster