International Cat Day: Meet the fluffy puss soothing others despite suffering from ill health

International Cat Day took place on Tuesday (August 8) and it was another fantastic opportunity to celebrate our feline friends. Whether you take the day to volunteer at an animal charity or adopt a kitty looking for a forever home or just donate - all of these things can help cats in need and pay tribute to these wonderful creatures.

If you are looking to adopt, one sweet and fluffy cat living at Birmingham RSPCA Animal Centre has an exceptional story and the poor kitty could do with all the love possible. Sweet Magnus, who is 11 years old, might find it hard to get adopted because of the health issues, but a real animal lover could become his saviour.

He was living life as a stray before he came to the animal charity and his teeth and ears tips were in a bad way. Not only did he need dental surgery but his ear tips were also removed. While he was frightened by the experience, he seemed to understand he was being looked after as he was a model patient throughout, according to RSPCA.

They added: “Magnus prefers to snooze in his outside run in a cosy box full of blankets or sunbathing in the afternoon light. He greets us with big meows from wherever he is lying, and comes out for laptime as soon as you sit down. He is a calm boy and will be a very theraputic companion for anyone lucky to have him!”

He would be ideal for a quieter home with older children who understand he’s a sensitive chap. He also loves to have his humans around for company and looks a little sad when he is all alone. If you are interested in offering Magnus a new home, please fill in and send your perfect match form to [email protected].

RSPCA reveals shocking animal attacks in West Midlands

While it is not known how Magnus came to be this poorly, there is information on how many animal cruelty cases were reported in the West Midlands recently. From January 2020 to May 2023, 30 calls reporting incidents of animals attacked with weapons in the West Midlands were made to the RSPCA.

West Midlands is the fourth county which is a hotspot for animal cruelty using weapons. Most reports came from Kent, followed by Greater London, Merseyside and jointly West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and West Midlands. Prime targets across the country were wild birds and pet cats with 841 birds and 262 cats deliberately attacked with weapons, followed by wild mammals (82), dogs (59), farm animals (41) and equines (26).

The charity released the heartbreaking figures as part of its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, in a bid to raise funds to help its frontline rescue teams continue to save animals from cruelty and abuse - like deadly weapon attacks.

RSPCA chief inspector for West Midlands, John Grant said: “It is unspeakably cruel, totally unacceptable and illegal to shoot animals for ‘fun’ - or as target practice, but sadly our emergency line is receiving hundreds of reports. We think of ourselves as a nation of animal lovers, but the RSPCA’s experience shows that there are people out there who are deliberately targeting wildlife, pets and farm animals with guns, catapults and crossbows. These weapons cause horrific pain and suffering.

“Day after day, our frontline officers and animal centres see the sickening consequences of weapons being used on animals - severe injuries often leading to death. And what we deal with is probably only the tip of the iceberg as not all cases will be reported to the RSPCA directly and there may be situations where animals injured and killed by these weapons are sadly never found - especially in the case of wildlife. This is why we need our supporters to back our Cancel Out Cruelty campaign so we can tackle this horrific trend.”