A very ill cat who was described as barely alive was dumped at The Mayhew Animal Home last week by a family who then fled the scene before staff could talk to them.

After Rocky was put to sleep, vets there are now warning other owners to take their pets to a vet early so avoid letting sicknesses develop to such an severe level.

The parents sent their young son into the shelter in Kensal Rise , with the female cat in a pet carrier with no door and only a towel thrown over the top.

The Mayhew’s Animal Welfare Officer, Tania Mazzoni, was handed the carrier which had the name “Rocky” scribbled on the top.

Vets say that poor Rocky the cat seemed to be half dead inside the carrier, and was unable to move her head or stand.

The young boy told Tania that his family had found Rocky on the side of the road and that his parents were waiting outside.

When Tania asked the boy to go get his parents to sign the paperwork to have Rocky signed over, the parents ushered the boy into the car and then sped away with vets saying that Rocky was in a horrific condition when she was brought into their clinic.

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Rocky was said to have been emaciated, freezing cold, dehydrated and had a lot of puss running out of her mouth.

She was so weak and unresponsive that vets says she seemed barely alive and thought to be roughly 10 years old based on the condition of her teeth.

Sadly, the vet team discovered that Rocky was too far gone and that the kindest thing to do for her was to relieve her from her suffering and put her to sleep.

'Would have been unfair to prolong her suffering'

Rocky was dumped at Mayhew Animal Home in Kensal rise and was near death
Rocky was dumped at Mayhew Animal Home in Kensal rise and was near death

Vets say that Rocky had clearly been suffering for weeks and had endured a high level of neglect that they say is 'unimaginable'.

Head vet at The Mayhew, Ursula Goetz, concluded: “Sadly, the kindest thing to do for Rocky was to put her to sleep as she was too far gone.

“She was clearly in a lot of pain and it would have been unfair to prolong her suffering. To get to that stage she was in would have taken a few weeks."

Mayhew Animal Home say that they rescue a lot of neglected, abandoned and abused animals every year, and say people must contact them before their pet deteriorates into a worse state of health, just like poor Rocky.

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Animal Welfare Manager at The Mayhew Animal Home, Zoe Edwards, said: “To let a cat get to such a neglected state like Rocky and not do anything before it was too late, is cruel and irresponsible.

“We don’t know who owned Rocky but we only wish that whoever did had come forward to us sooner, so we could have done more to help.

“We absolutely encourage people who are having problems with taking their pet to the vet to get in contact with us so we can see what we can do to help, no matter what the reason is. We do not judge anyone, we are here to help the animal and prevent suffering.”