Carolyn 
Grace was unable to eat after the tar caused chemical burns to her tongue, mouth and throat.
A stray cat had to be fed through a tube and recovered after sticky tar caused chemical burns to its tongue, mouth and throat.
After an inspector in North Shields found Grace covered in what he initially thought was oil on August 1, dedicated RSPCA staff spent three months nursing her back to health.
Catherine Nesham, kennel manager at Felicity Animal Center in Tyne and Wear, who has been looking after Grace, said: “Grace was brought in on a Sunday when I was working and she was covered in black goo. We can’t be 100% sure what she is, but she looks like burglar tar or paint.
“At the time we couldn’t get a good look at his mouth and his jaw seemed unbalanced when he was trying to eat, so we initially thought his jaw may have been fractured or dislocated. She was drooling and drooling too.”
“After seeing her trying to eat, we put on gloves, opened her mouth and noticed an unpleasant odor. We were able to see burns on her tongue and her palate and we took her back to the vet.”
The vets sedated her and found that her mouth was oozing and red. Her jaw was not broken, but the cuts and burns to her mouth and throat were severe enough to affect her ability to eat, so a feeding tube was put in to help. They thought she had a sticky substance on her coat that burned her mouth and throat when she tried to clean it off. She spent four days at the vet with pain relief, bathing every day to try and remove the goo.
Catherine said: “We started giving him soft food and after eight days we were able to remove the feeding tube.
“We continued to bathe her every day and stopped her pain relief. It took months for her mouth to heal and now we are happy that Grace is back to health and she is ready to find a loving home.”
“His injury made his tongue weird, but it only added to his quirky and adorable character. Despite all the therapy and pain she had to endure, she was the most loving and affectionate cat. She would make a great lap cat.”
If you think you can give Grace a new home, please contact Felledge [email protected] for more information about her.
To help the RSPCA continue to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome animals in desperate need of care, visit their website or call our donation hotline on 0300 123 8181.
The information presented in this article and the entire website is for informational purposes only. If you need sensitive information regarding your pet, we recommend that you consult a professional.
