Meet Jackson and the blood donor who saved his life
"I first started working as a theatre and diagnostic assistant at the RVC in 2018. During this time I was able to help out with the donations process.
Seeing the smooth and thoughtful process of the cat blood donations is when I decided to sign Poopie up- he’d always been a relatively calm cat so I thought it would be great to sign him up and see how he got on.
Poopie is a chubby little 7 year old tabby. He came to us as a little kitten. My mum was working at a farm shop when she noticed a small kitten roaming by itself. After inquiring with all people around the farm shop and no one knowing where he came from we took him to the vets but sadly found out that he didn’t have a microchip. After putting up posters in the area, a while had passed and no contact from anyone so we decided he should formally join our family. He’s become such a big part of the family and he really is a quirky little boy. He loves to shout at us in the street and he’s earned himself the nickname of Barry White as he has the deepest little meow.
Poopie started donating in 2018 and has had many successful donations since. Before the donation, there is feliway and calming cat music to help him settle in. His donations are perhaps a little different to the usual ones, he likes to sit in the bottom part of his cat carrier so we all have to squeeze together in and around this for his donations!
I think Poopie loves his time at the RVC. After each donation he gets some yummy food which he usually just licks the gravy from (typical fussy cat) until he is given his special dreamies jar- he loves nothing more than to shove his head inside and help himself to his desired portion!
I would encourage anyone with a cat to consider signing them up. The first part of the process is checking suitability and the nurses are very honest if they think a cat isn’t comfortable with the process.
Every part of the donation itself is all about how the cat feels and they will never be forced to donate if they give off all the signals that it’s not for them. The nurses love all their donors and they treat them with such respect and care.
We have received multiple thank yous from the families of the animals that have received Poopies blood and it give you such a wonderful feeling knowing that he has helped a feline friend- especially as I’m such a cat lover myself. It’s also a great perk getting a heart scan, blood test and some yummy food.” Paige, Sterilising Technician, RVC
A special thank you!
“We are tremendously grateful for all the care that Jackson received and, particularly, for the blood donation from Poopie. He would not have survived without it. Jackson was 9 months old when his bladder burst and I did an emergency dash with him from Sussex up to the RVC. Nightmare traffic on the M25 and no guarantee he would survive the journey. The care he received with you was exceptional. He needed 2 operations and it was touch and go for several days.
“He has bounced back into being the happy carefree cat he was meant to be. I must admit I still have a wobble when I see him climbing the pergola as he must have used up most of his 9 lives!” Jackson’s owner
Click here to see how YOU and your pet could support our life saving blood transfusion team : https://www.rvc.ac.uk/act/blooddonors
