WHEN kitten Stella was found wandering the back streets of Oxford, animal charity workers could tell there was something wrong with her.

Tests revealed the cat, now about 15 weeks old, was suffering from a rare condition known as a portosystemic shunt – or liver shunt – and desperately needed a life-saving operation, which could cost up to £3,000.

The Oxford and District branch of Cats Protection is planning to take the kitten to a major veterinary teaching hospital in Cambridge in an attempt to remedy the illness, and is appealing for help paying for her treatment.

Cats Protection treasurer Jackie Gore, who is looking after the kitten at her home in Lower Radley, near Abingdon, said: “We picked her up with another kitten from the same litter. While one was looking very bright and healthy, this one was quiet and lethargic and not like a normal kitten should be.

“We managed to find a home for the other one but I decided to keep Stella for a bit to see what was wrong.

“Then I came home one day and she was drooling everywhere, which is not normal.”

Stella was diagnosed by vets at Boundary Veterinary Centre, Oxford Road, Abingdon, but the centre does not have the facilities to perform the operation the kitten needs.

The condition can cause everything from poor growth and lack of appetite, to seizures and blindness.

A study earlier this year found that portosystemic shunt was found in 4.8 cats in every 10,000.

Without treatment, Mrs Gore said Stella was unlikely to live until her first birthday – and it is likely that had she not been rescued, she would not have survived as long as she had.

She said: “She’s like a little old lady – she has good days and bad days.

“She will run and jump at something but miss it by a foot.

“In some ways she is like someone with dementia. She is a poor little mite.”

If the operation is successful, the kitten should make a full recovery and the organisation will try to find a home for her.

But if veterinary surgeons are unable to repair the defect fully, she will remain in Mrs Gore’s care.

The charity will pay for Stella’s surgery but Mrs Gore, who currently looks after about 20 cats including five which cannot be rehomed elsewhere, said it hoped generous well-wishers would contribute.

She said: “The money will come out of our funds but it is a big chunk for one cat. And if there are ongoing problems we will have to fund that too.

“We are asking for donations for her and for other cats with ongoing medical issues.”

The charity raises about £50,000 each year and looks after and finds home for hundreds of cats and kittens.

To contribute to the appeal call 01235 221147.

l Last month, Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary launched an appeal for money to rescue the sight of a King Charles Spaniel.

Six-year-old Hamish is blind in one eye and can see very little in the other, and needs a cataract operation costing £2,000 which should restore the sight in his better eye.

Since the appeal, £900 has been raised and a couple in Drayton have fostered him.

To contribute, send cheques to Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, Watlington Road, Stadhampton, marked ‘Help Hamish’.

fbardsley@oxfordmail.co.uk