Persian cat Clive recovers from his chest operation.

Our National Cat Adoption Centre has rehomed a cat that underwent specialist surgery for a rare condition.

Persian Clive arrived at our National Cat Adoption Centre (NCAC) in East Sussex last December as his owners could no longer look after him.

Clive was checked over by our veterinary team, just like all the other cats that arrive at the centre.

His coat was badly matted and had to be shaved off, apart from the fur on his neck, paws and tail tip. His new, leonine appearance saw him dubbed Clive the Lionheart by staff and volunteers, who fell in love with his gentle character.

Clive charmed staff and volunteers with his gentle nature

At that time, all the centre cats were scanned as part of the Royal Veterinary College’s CatScan project.

While Clive showed no outward signs of illness, the scan and further x-rays revealed that he was suffering from a diaphragmatic hernia.

“His intestines and some of his major organs had been pushed into his chest cavity. He needed surgery straight away,” explains deputy centre manager Tania Marsh. “If he’d come in at any other time, this wouldn’t have been discovered.”

The Blue Cross in London, who had the specialist facilities Clive needed, agreed to perform the surgery on CP’s behalf.

As Clive went for surgery, the centre team started a fundraising appeal and raised the full amount needed for the operation.

June Day, a centre volunteer, waited nervously as Clive went under the knife. June, who already had two cats including female Persian Paris, had fallen in love with Clive as soon as she met him.

“When I found out about his medical problems I said I didn’t care,” says June, who has volunteered for Cats Protection for more than seven years.  “I’d made up my mind that I was taking him.”

Clive’s operation was complex – in the end, he needed two procedures and a blood transfusion. At one point, it wasn’t certain that he would pull through.

But Clive was a battler. Ten days after his operation, he was back at the NCAC and not long after, June was taking him home.

Clive now has a happy home with June and her husband Rodney

Clive is now truly settled in his new house and likes to explore the garden with June’s five-year-old moggy Soloman. “He loves to play, particularly with a green fish that he had at the NCAC,” says June.

Clive will need heart scans every two years but will suffer no lasting effects from his operation. His life was saved, thanks to the co-operation between Cats Protection, The Royal Veterinary College and the Blue Cross.