Rescued Derbyshire cat purring again following ear removal

A stray cat is purring again after being rescued and treated for skin cancer by having her ears removed.

Jasmine the cat had been living rough near a vehicle repair garage in Derbyshire, where she was fed by the owners and one of their dads.

They noticed blood was coming from her ears, so caught her with the help of a woman who works nearby.

She was taken to the vets, who contacted Brinsley Animal Rescue in Nottinghamshire.

The charity then paid for her surgery, which was done at a different vets, and has been looking after her since.

"She is now purring and coming to us for a fuss," said Jon Beresford, who runs Brinsley Animal Rescue.

"She looks like she has been through the wars but she's doing well. They [cats] don't know what they look like."

He said white cats like Jasmine are prone to getting sunburn and skin cancer, which also affected her nose.

"Having no owner meant no-one has been putting sun cream on her," he said.

"The tissue was degrading and she was bleeding from both ears and her nose. No doubt she was in a lot of discomfort and pain."

Jasmine had been frequenting the vehicle repair garage, in the village of Heage, for about four years.

It used to be part of construction company Bowmer and Kirkland, and Dave Whitehouse started feeding her when he worked there.

He got made redundant but carried on going back to feed the cat, who he called Snowy, despite living eight miles away in Selston.

His son and wife's cousin took over the garage, which is now called Derbyshire Vehicle Repair Centre, and they fed the cat, too.

The older Mr Whitehouse went to visit Jasmine/Snowy at Brinsley Animal Rescue on Tuesday to see how she was doing.

"She was a bit shy at first but once she started to recognise my voice she was friendly, and I managed to get a stroke and a purr out of her, which was quite pleasing," he said.

Mr Whitehouse, who said he is an animal lover, also feeds two other stray cats who come to the garage, a feral cat who visits his house, and he also has a rescue rabbit.

People have already donated more than £1,200 towards Jasmine/Snowy's treatment via Brinsley Animal Rescue's Facebook page.

Mr Beresford said Jasmine/Snowy did have a microchip but neither the vets nor Brinsley Animal Rescue have been able to trace her owners.

The microchip showed she was about 15 years old.

"The cancer could come back, however, if nothing else we have extended her life and made her life more comfortable," said Mr Beresford.

"We will potentially rehome her when she's fully recovered or she will live here. We've got another cat who is 23."

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