Our Favourite Rescues of 2025: Dave

Handsome Dave was a very sweet tuxedo cat that came into our care in April 2024 after a lifetime of living on the streets. He’d been found as a stray and had clearly been in a few scrapes and fights as he was suffering with a huge, burst cat bite abscess, was underweight and covered in scars with tatty ears.

The abscess had burst leaving a very sore hole in the side of Dave’s neck which took months of dedication by the team and cattery staff of bathing, medications and wound management to get to the point where Dave could have key surgery to stitch up the remaining gap. Throughout this, we also found he had a heart murmur which wasn’t life threatening but interfered with treatment options and would need to be monitored and medicated.

He also wasn’t keen on socialising at the start, but the team were able to slowly gain his trust by using Dreamies and treats to show him that there was nothing to worry about and soon became the cattery favourite who could do no wrong! Dave was a team favourite due to his love of hugs and head rubs. He’d stay snuggled in his bed but then invite staff over by showing them his belly and asking for chin scratches.

In July 2025, Dave found what had seemed impossible, he found his forever home:

‘Dave is getting on so well. We’re slowly building his confidence in exploring the house. He’s just been rolling around on the floor attacking his own tail. Every day he’s getting closer to sitting on my lap. He’s such a special boy and we absolutely love him to bits already.’