Jolie who led rescuers to her kittens

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In October 2011 a young black cat was heartlessly thrown from a car in the town of March, in Cambridgeshire in the east of England — but fortunately someone saw the incident and was able both to alert the RSPCA and to monitor the cat. The 'good Samaritan' started to feed her, and after a couple of weeks was able to catch her and take her to an RSPCA surgery. Although thin, needing treatment for fleas and worms and having a grazed face from her ordeal, she was otherwise quite healthy, but it was clear she'd recently had kittens (possibly the reason she was 'dumped'). So it was necessary to take her back to the place where she'd been found, in order that she'd be able to return to her kits.

Now named Jolie, when she was returned to the spot by RSPCA Inspector Jon Knight the young mother began to call out. At first he thought she was calling to her kittens, but then he realised she was meowing at him, wanting him to follow her. It was a rural area, and she took him across country, through gardens, over a ploughed field and into a farmyard. She entered a farm machinery barn and went straight to a stack of old wood — and behind it were her four kittens, still with their eyes closed. 'There is absolutely no way I would have found these kittens without the cat's help,� said Inspector Knight. 'She was a huge distance away from the garden she had first been found in, and was clearly doing all she could to lead me to her kittens.'

The family was taken to the local RSPCA Animal Centre, where they would stay until fit, healthy and old enough to be rehomed. Jolie also needed to put on some weight, but that probably wouldn't happen until she'd weaned the youngsters. All's well that ends well, thanks to the young mother's determination and love for her kittens. As for thoughts on the people who threw her out of the car — well, we�d better not go there.

The full article about Jolie's adventure can be seen at the Ely Weekly News.

Billy The stray who befriended an autistic boy

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Four-year-old Fraser, of Balmoral in Scotland, is an autistic boy who was finding everyday life difficult, with even simple tasks often ending in tears and temper tantrums — until Billy the cat came along. Billy himself hadn't had the easiest start in life, having been abandoned by his owner and rescued from a boarded-up house by the charity Cats Protection. Then, during 2011, the family went along to the CP shelter to look for a cat — and the first time he saw Fraser Billy went straight to him. The boy sat on the floor of Billy's pen, and Billy laid across him with his paws on his legs and just started purring. Fraser said, 'This is our cat, he can come and live with us,' and so it was decided.

Now the pair are inseparable, and whether it's playtime, storytime or bedtime Billy's always there to give the little boy reassurance; he seems to sense when Fraser is becoming frustrated, and calms him down by purring or asking for a cuddle. 'If Fraser is around or playing in the garden, Billy is never far away,' says Mrs Booth. 'It's as though he's watching Fraser and calming his behaviour. He always appears when Fraser is getting upset and offers his head close to Fraser's to reassure him and recently, when the boy was poorly, Billy sat on his lap all day. They say animals can sense things, but Billy seems to know before anybody else if Fraser is going to get upset.'

Now it's almost as though Billy is Fraser's guardian. 'Billy has made a complete difference to our family life; he's taken away the stress, he's added happiness and an air of calm — he's just been amazing,' says Mrs Booth. The full story, and more great photos of Fraser with Billy, can be seen at the Mail Online.

Update

A couple of years later than the above account in the Mail, The Scotsman ran an excellent article about Fraser and Billy's progress. Fraser's sister Pippa now had her own cat called Percy — and Fraser himself, with Billy's help and companionship, had made amazing progress and was attending mainstream school. There is also a book: When Fraser Met Billy.