Stray cat warning issued after feline just 'days from death' is rescued
A Black Country branch of the RSPCA is urging people to do more than "just feed" stray cats, after rescuing one which had been "left to die".
The Stourbridge and District branch of the RSPCA has rescued a stray called Maverick, who was suffering from "one of the worst wounds" rescuers had ever seen.
His wound was so bad that his "skin was dying" and underneath the skin was "a pocket full of fly eggs waiting to catch", which volunteers say would have led to him being eaten by maggots from the inside out if he hadn't been rushed into their care.
Maverick had "without question suffered immeasurable cruelty and neglect", according to volunteers, who claim he was just "days away from death" when they rescued him.
Named after the Welsh term for great hero, Maverick had been fed by residents who had spotted the stray cat, but had not been taken to a vets or animal charity to receive treatment for his wound.
The RSPCA branch is now warning residents that feeding stray cats "is not enough"and say that without treatment, Maverick would have "died with a full tummy, and that's the reality".
A volunteer at the Stourbridge and District branch said: "In recent days we have been alerted to the plight of one very poor soul indeed.
"A boy who without question has suffered immeasurable cruelty and neglect which has resulted in one of the worst wounds we have seen in rescue to date.
