Easthams hill small animal rescue

23/06/2026

Fantastic resource worth a read

WELFARE IN THE HEAT Helping you protect your animals in hot weather As temperatures climb, so do the risks to animal health and welfare. At Animalweb, we’ve brought together expert advice, practical tips, and the latest research to help you manage your animals safely during hot weather. This is yo...

22/06/2026

We need your help!

Clive has been poorly recently and after taking him to the vets we have discovered he has a heart murmur, we need to raise £220 for blood tests and ultrasound scans to investigate further, and get him on any medication he needs.

Please help donate towards clives tests this beautiful boy needs!.

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=W4P9GGSAKEXLW

21/06/2026

With the weather due to be hot next week here are some tips to help keep your small animals cool and comfortable

14/06/2026

We have almost completed our outdoor catio! We now need to fill it with enrichment for the cats and also beds and blankets for the sleep area

If you wish to donate something to help kit out our catio have a look at our amazon wishlist!

11/06/2026

Part 3. Our little fighter

In october 2024 rustys condition declined he was having more sickness episodes and for longer periods, one day we had to take him to an out of hours vets as he was so poorly we where told he needed putting to sleep, we declined he deserved a chance as we knew an operation was possible as we had explored this in the past, we took him to a specialist vets, he was scanned and xrayed and his vascular ring was constricting his throat and he would eventually suffocate if it was left so again the decision was to either euthanise him or operate.
We spoke to the vet who was happy to do the operation although he had never done it and had only heard of 1 case study that was sucsessful, we decided to give rusty a chance,

We where also infomed if the operation was sucsessful he would need to be fed through a tube directly into his stomach bypassing his throat as he wouldnt be able to eat normally again, the vet said he wouldnt normally recommend this as it takes alot of dedication but he said we are one of the most dedicated owners he had come across and most cats with the condition dont make it past 1 years old, rusty was almost 3 years old! The vet knew we would dedicate everything to rusty

so we took him home for a couple days whilst waiting for his operation day. He had already been at the hospital for 2 days and when we collected him he was so excited to see us and be with us.

Operation day came and we dropped him off and cuddled and kissed him and anxiously waited for the call...when the vet called he let us know the operation was a sucsess! And we could collect him the next day. That evening i called to see how he was. He was recovering well and even playing!

Sadly later that day rusty had a massive stroke, the next morning i went and visited him and it was heartbreaking to see him the way he was, the vet said it was touch and go he had a low chance of survival, rusty was a survivor i wanted to give him a chance of recovery so went for the watch and wait approach with guidence from the vet.

The call came later on that night rusty had passed away. We where devastated, he couldnt fight anymore and his body could take no more.

I went to visit one last time to say goodbye, and he was finally at peace. The vet team said what a character he was and he was a special boy which described rusty in a nutshell, we where told they had never met such dedicated owners and we really gave him the best life possible.

I get asked would i do it again? In a heartbeat every cat deserves a chance and i am willing to give any animal a chance even if its a small chance it is still a chance.

Rusty lived for 3 years and was a happy, loving boy who loved life and enjoyed it. He was a strong character who was a fighter to the end.

10/06/2026

Part 2: day to day life, trial and error

Once rusty came home with us we quickly learnt he was constantly hungry and always on the look out for food! As we where a multi cat household rusty had to be fed seperately from the others to avoid him trying to eat normal food. This included human food he tried to swipe!
Rusty was fed cat pate which was blended with water for the right consistency (which took a few atempts to get right, too thick it would make him regurgitate it) he had to be fed in a tilted bowl and at hight so he was on his hind legs to allow the food to go straight down to his stomach and not pool where his esophagus was restricted where a pocket had formed due to him having a vascular ring anomaly which is a constriction in the throat caused by megasophagus.

Rustys weight gain was poor due to a liquid only diet and always remined around 3kg so he had to be fed little and often to keep him from regurgitating his food as too much liquid at once would also cause him to again regurgitate as liquid would pool in his pockets in his throat.he needed feeding every 4 hours so a automatic cat feeder was a blessing when we went out.

Rusty had to visit the vets alot to get anti sickness jabs to help when he bad episodes and could vomit multiple times a day, on a good day he may just have vomited couple of times...and on excellent days not at all.

Due to his low body weight he couldnt regulate his temperature so could overheat or get cold very easily so we made a bed with heated blankets underneath for him which he loved in the winter next to our under counter heating!

We also made an outdoor catio so he could enjoy outdoors safely and not risk eating any solids.

When he wasnt ill rusty was a happy affectionate boy and he loved life and had a good quality of it inbetween sickness bouts.

Follow for part 3: our little fighter.

08/06/2026

As part of megasophagus awareness month i want to share our story with you to help understand the condition.

PART 1: background and beginning

Meet Rusty he was born with the condition from birth he had a tough time, he couldnt keep normal food down, his then owners took him to the vet where he was diagnosed. The vet offered to put him to sleep which the owners declined he was only 3 weeks old!
Forward on a few months they decided to rehome him due to being a multi cat household and dog it was impossible to stop him eating normal food and he needed to be an indoor cat to stop him from eating anything solid. causing him to vomit and aspirate on his food. They contacted a well known rescue who again said we can take him and we can put him to sleep...again they declined..he was almost a year old at this point. This is where we stepped in we weren't running an animal rescue at the time, they where neighbours of ours (rusty's dad was actually one of our cats! Who at the time we where told was female! This was when we found out he was not!)
We took rusty on willingly knowing he had a condition and required extra attention and dedication this did not phase us nor did it scare us he was a loving and happy boy who deserved a chance and thats what we wanted to give him.

So he came home with us a week later.

Follow to see part 2 tommorow: day to day life and trial and error!.

06/06/2026

We cant believe these 2 sweet girls are still waiting for their forever home!

They are such a lovely pair! They love people and would suit a family or a couple or even a solo owner! They would be okay with other cats also.

All our animals come neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and flea and wormed.

They also come with 4 weeks free pet plan insurance.

Contact us for more infomation or to fill out an adoption application.

04/06/2026

We have had alot of calls lately about injured wildlife and concerns for wellbeing here is some tips and useful info to help decide what the best course of action is:

First things first – take a moment to assess the situation

Not all animals that appear alone actually need help. For example, fledgling birds often spend time on the ground while learning to fly, while their parents continue to feed and watch over them nearby.

However, intervention is likely needed if the animal is visibly injured, bleeding, covered in flies, cold, or in immediate danger (such as near a road, water, or predators).

If you need to move the animal, do so carefully

If it is safe to do so, gently place the animal in a well-ventilated box lined with a towel or soft cloth. Keep it in a quiet, dark, and warm space, away from noise, pets, and children. Try to minimise handling as much as possible to reduce stress.

Please don’t try to feed or treat it yourself

As natural as it feels to want to help, feeding or giving water to injured wildlife can often do more harm than good. The best thing you can do is keep the animal safe and calm until advice or assistance arrives.

For expert help and advice, please contact:

* Secret World Wildlife Rescue
Open daily, 8am–8pm
01278 783250
www.secretworld.org

* RSPCA West Hatch Wildlife Centre
Open daily, 8am–9pm
0300 123 0721
www.rspca.org.uk/local/west-hatch-wildlife-centre

Other helpful resources:

* Somerset Wildlife Trust – www.somersetwildlife.org/wildlife-advice

* British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council – www.bwrc.org.uk/rehabilitators

Important

Please do not bring injured wildlife to the rescue. As much as we’d love to help, we do not have on-site veterinary care or the specialist facilities needed to treat wild animals. Travelling here can delay the animal receiving urgent professional care.

A final note

Helping wildlife can be incredibly rewarding, but getting the right advice quickly is key to giving animals the best possible chance of recovery and release. Thank you for caring and taking the time to do the right thing.

01/06/2026

June is Megaesophagus Awareness Month!🐾

Megaesophagus is a condition in which the esophagus becomes dilated and loses its ability to move food effectively. This results in regurgitation, malnutrition, and often aspiration pneumonia, a serious complication when food or liquid enters the lungs. While it may sound like a hopeless diagnosis, it’s important to know: megaesophagus is not a death sentence

This can be congential and born with the condition or can develop in later life.

📌 Key facts about Megaesophagus:
• Symptoms: Regurgitation (not vomiting), weight loss, poor appetite, frequent respiratory infections, coughing
• Diagnosis: Chest X-rays, barium swallow studies, and blood tests to identify underlying causes like myasthenia gravis
• Management: Upright feeding, food consistency modification(a liquid diet. we used cat pate and mixed in water), monitoring for pneumonia, and treatment of underlying conditions if applicable

Megaesophagus can feel overwhelming at first, but with the right care, many pets go on to live a happy life!