Introducing Savma

Savma has been with us a few months now and she’s a very special and inspirational cat. After being found injured and completely paralysed, the result of a road accident, she has shown remarkable strength and determination to survive. And against all odds, this girl is winning her battle. Here’s her story.

We were contacted by one of our supporters whose friend witnessed Savma being run over and left by the roadside, injured and unable to move. An examination by the vet revealed complete paralysis, and it was not clear whether this would be permanent or whether she would even survive. She remained at the vets under observation and after a week, she began to move her head and eat a little by herself. So it was decided to give Savma a chance. Maybe, with patient care and regular physio, she could regain the use of her limbs. But it would be a long haul and since our supporter friend was due to leave the island to return home, we took over and Savma came to live at Syros Cats. We set aside one of our recovery units for her and one of our volunteers made it her mission to care for Savma.

So started a regime of physiotherapy three times a day, based on an instructional video from the vet and our volunteer’s own research into other techniques. Aside from the physiotherapy, Savma also needed help with toileting, as she was doubly incontinent, and help with eating. So it was a full-on care package of daily cleaning, bathing and physio for weeks, made trickier of course, by the fact that Savma was a street cat and not totally happy being around humans or appreciative of their attempts to help her!

But patience and hard work won out and slowly, little victories were spotted each day. She was managing to turn herself over onto her preferred side (always the right side) and she was eating well. Food is always a good motivator, so volunteers started to put her food further away to encourage her to make her own way to it. Physio was combined with 30-minute massages at least 5 times a day to strengthen her muscles and the simple solution of a non-slip mat helped give her better grip as she learned to walk again. And there were celebrations all round when she managed to use her litter tray for the first time! At last, the deep-cleaning and bathing regime could be scaled back a little!

As Savma gradually regained her mobility, she was able to spend some time each day in the walled garden for fresh air and sunshine and more space to move around and strengthen her back legs. And her personality began to shine through too, as she gained confidence. Though still very much giving off street cat vibes, it was discovered that she liked being stroked slowly on her head, while the deep massage treatment brought forth some contented purrs. The vets were amazed at her progress and muscle gain. From a point of very little hope, there was now every reason to believe she could make it.

A few weeks ago, Savma moved into our founder Jacky’s apartment, to give her a better quality of life and get her used to a domestic environment. She’s settling in nicely, is exploring her new place and can scuttle around remarkably quickly as her movements become more co-ordinated. She’s also relaxed enough to enjoy deep sleeps in her preferred cosy corner.

There is still a way to go, but we’re hopeful of a good outcome thanks in no small way to the succession of volunteers who’ve all played a part in her recovery. We’re grateful to our supporters for finding Savma, for not giving up on her when things looked so hopeless, and for funding all of her treatment and care.