A miracle cat who survived being hit by a train is on track to make a full recovery, thanks to vet charity PDSA.
One-year-old Jay from Ilford suffered horrific injuries, including a severed leg and fractured tail, after wandering on to the train tracks next to his home.
His owner, Darren Danks, began to worry something was wrong after Jay didn’t return home after being let out.
“Jay likes to explore but never ventures too far from home,” the 45-year-old said. “It was really out of character for him to go missing so I was really worried. When several hours had gone by I knew something was wrong.
“I took a look outside and could see Jay lying on the other side of our fence. I called out his name and he slowly began to hobble over. I was horrified when I noticed one of his back legs was missing.”
Despite the severity of his injuries, Jay found the energy to jump the nine-foot fence and return to Darren in the garden.
“My wife was in tears and I was struggling to hold it together. There was a trail of blood leading from the train tracks and I thought we were going to lose him. I couldn’t believe he had survived being hit by a train.”
Jay was taken to the Ilford PDSA Pet Hospital, where PDSA currently have emergency vets on standby to provide life-saving care to pets during the coronavirus crisis.
“Jay was in a critical condition when he arrived at PDSA,” said the charity’s Vet Lucy Gardiner. “His right hind leg was severed from the accident and x-rays revealed he had fractured what was left of it, as well as his tail.
“Due to the level of trauma, we had no choice but to amputate what remained of his right hind leg. His broken tail also had to be amputated. This was complex surgery and there was a real risk that Jay wouldn’t pull through.”
Darren added: “Life without Jay doesn’t bare thinking about, he means the world to us and is such an important part of our family. My wife is deaf and Jay is an enormous source of comfort to her - he always picks us up when we are feeling down.
“We want to thank everyone at PDSA for saving his life. They never gave up on Jay, even when we thought all was lost. We’ve donated what we can towards Jay’s treatment, but I don’t think I can ever repay them for bringing my boy back from the brink.”
PDSA doesn’t receive any Government funding, so Jay’s life-saving treatment is only possible thanks to public support and kind donations.
Visit www.pdsa.org.uk/giving-tuesday to help out.
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