Black Friday turned out to be quite a dark day for several tom cats who were brought into Ard Jerkyll within a few hours of each other.

One was a very sickly feral tom - he’d clearly lived a hard life and was battle-scarred and scrawny.

He’d been living for some time near a warehouse on the outskirts of Douglas, and a kind employee took pity on him and was able to catch him and bring him to us.

We took him straight to the vet who diagnosed him with advanced and inoperable cancer, which must have been very painful, and so the sad decision was made to put him to sleep. At least his suffering was over.

Then another kind gentleman scooped up the body of a beautiful, very large ginger tom who had been run over near Peel Football Club. This cat had clearly been well-fed and was in the prime of life. He wasn’t microchipped and so we will keep his body at Ard Jerkyll in the hope that his owner contacts us.

He wasn’t neutered either, and if he had been he may not have come to such a sad end. Neutered toms tend to stay closer to home because their roaming instinct is lessened by the fact that they don’t go in search of females to mate with.

And then a third tom came into us, very much alive - this time a suspected stray who is well-known in Peel as the tabby and white cat who likes to sit on the seats of stationary motorbikes.

It is sometimes very difficult to determine whether a cat is a true stray, or whether he/she simply likes to be a ’free spirit’.

He had decided several weeks ago to spend most of his time inside a local food retailer, and although the staff wanted to make sure he had food and shelter, they couldn’t contravene their food hygiene regulations by continuing to allow him to stay inside.

Given he isn’t microchipped, he is now in our cattery, and his photograph has been placed on our ’ManxSPCA Lost and Found Pets’ Facebook page, alongside the fourth of Black Friday’s tom cats - a black and white boy with a bad eye infection.

Yet again, this tom is un-neutered and doesn’t have a microchip, and so he will stay in our quarantine cattery for two weeks to give his owner (if he has one) a chance to locate him.

After two weeks in our quarantine unit, provided cats are fit and well they are moved to our main cattery for rehoming.

beautiful

Most cats are only with us for a few days or weeks before they find their new homes, and so there is quite a rapid turnaround within the pens.

Beautiful black Hiccup transferred to the main cattery last week.

He was found as a feral kitten but he has learned to love humans and, at only six months old, he has a lifetime of cuddles and companionship to offer.

Given he is neutered and microchipped, unlike the cats mentioned above, he shouldn’t wander too far and become a stray.

Like all young cats he needs a new home that isn’t near a main road because he has not had the chance to develop any ’car sense’.

We couldn’t do what we do for cats and other animals without the support of the Manx public.

One cat alone has cost us £450 in veterinary fees this month, even with heavily discounted rates.

We are urging people to send the ManxSPCA a small donation in lieu of sending Christmas cards this year, and trying to make it as easy as possible to make a payment.

As well as being able to send a cheque to the society (through the post or in person at Ard Jerkyll or our charity shops), people can donate via Facebook, Just Giving or by text - texts should be sent to 70660 and quote SNOWY (please see the terms and conditions on our website) and they will result in a £10 donation.