Weymouth family's cat fights for survival (From Dorset Echo)

Weymouth family's cat fights for survival

9:40am Friday 27th March 2009 in Local News By Laura Kitching

FOZZY the cat is still fighting for survival at a veterinary hospital after being fed cannabis by a stranger in Weymouth.

His family said the moggy was being cared for at the Heathlands Veterinary Hospital near Wool.

His owner Paige Bascombe, 12, is devastated by her beloved pet’s condition.

The Wey Valley pupil said: “I feel a little bit better because I thought he was going to die.

“I just miss coming home and seeing him.”

The family believes someone in the Littlemoor area fed Fozzy the drugs as a prank.

Fozzy fell ill last Thursday and was rushed to the Wool hospital on Saturday morning. Tests by their vets showed cannabis was the most likely cause, the family has said.

Paige’s grandmother Sue Bascombe, of Canberra Crescent, Littlemoor, said: “Paige comes home and the first thing she asks is ‘how’s Fozzy?’.

“He’s still bad, we’re just hoping for the best.

“His condition keeps changing.

“One minute he’s up and about and seems to be getting better then he keeps having seizures and has to be sedated.

“They’ve been feeding him with a tube.”

It is thought to have happened last Wednesday when Fozzy was out and about in the nice weather.

Sue’s partner Stan Bethell branded the people who poisoned Fozzy as ‘low-life scum’.

A woman from Devon read about Fozzy’s plight and has pledged £200 towards his veterinary bills.

Sue said the rising vet bills totalled £310 yesterday.

Sue added: “A lady from Devon has come forward and offered £200 for the vet bills, she’s also asked to be kept updated on Fozzy’s condition.

“The vet bills cost £260 on Tuesday but then a blood test cost another £50. They said they could do an MRI scan for £500 but I think that’s going too far.”

Shop assistant Sue, 55, said if Fozzy was brain damaged by the prank, the family would love him none-the-less.

She said: “We still want him back.

“As long as he’s got a good quality of life it doesn’t matter to us if he’s brain damaged.”