Charlie’s story raises awareness of dangers dark nights can pose to cats

As the clocks go back and the nights get darker, PDSA Pet Insurance is sharing Charlie’s story to raise awareness of the dangers dark nights can pose to cats.

The charity’s warning comes at the time of year when cats are most at risk of being involved in a car accident.

“We found Charlie on the doorstep one morning covered in blood with his jaw practically hanging off,” Charlie’s owner, Conway Loveridge, explained. “My eight-year-old daughter, Emily, was beside herself crying.”

Conway rushed Charlie to a local vets, who provided emergency treatment and pain relief, then transferred him to Portsmouth PDSA Pet Hospital.

PDSA Vet Nurse Shauna Walsh said: “Charlie had a fracture of his lower jaw and facial injuries. He was transferred to us from a private vets after they realised Mr Loveridge was eligible for PDSA help. The team continued with Charlie’s pain relief and started him on fluids to rehydrate and support him.

“The following day, once he was stable, the team repaired Charlie’s broken jaw under general anaesthetic, using a wire to hold the broken pieces together so they could heal.

“He recovered well, so went home the same day with pain relief, antibiotics, and instructions to have very soft food whilst his jaw was healing. He has since had his jaw wire removed and has healed really well.”

Had it not been for PDSA, Conway, an air conditioning and refrigerator engineer, dreads to think what would have happened to Charlie.He said: “We were all absolutely devastated. We hadn’t had him long when this happened. It’s not until these moments that you realise he’s not just a cat, he’s a member of the family.

“His favourite thing to do is play with Emily. He sits there waiting for her to come home from school. She’s an only child and he’s helped her a great deal. Charlie’s more than a cat for her, he’s a friend and companion. They’re an inseparable pair.”

Charlie’s treatment at PDSA came to almost £850 and Conway said it caught him at the ‘worst time’.“I’m in between work contracts at the moment,” he explained. “Everything’s going up and my income hasn’t increased. I’ve had to make sacrifices. If PDSA hadn’t been there, Charlie wouldn’t be here.

"We’ve donated what we can, though. We even took a few cakes to the Pet Hospital, and a card that Emily made, to say thank you to the brilliant team.”

Ahead of the clocks going back this weekend, PDSA hopes Charlie’s story will help other pet owners.

Shauna added: “Our teams treat approximately 2,400 suspected road traffic accident related injuries every year. It can cost up to £2,000 to treat a cat and £2,800 to treat a dog, which equates to potentially over a million pounds spent on saving precious pets’ lives who’ve been injured on the roads.

“Cats are most at risk of being involved in a car accident this time of year.”