Uninvited guest aken to Putney Animal Hospital then released back to the wild

A Mitcham family had quite the shock when they came down to the kitchen early one morning to find a Fox asleep on top of the microwave!

Kim Fryer was at home in Rawnsley Avenue on 15 December when her daughter discovered the fox early in the morning. Kim said, “My daughter found him at 7am and called up to me. I came down and spotted this little fox curled up on top of the microwave!

“I have five cats and a dog so obviously I have a cat flap. He must have crawled under the gate and through the cat flap! A couple of my plants were smashed and there was mud everywhere!

“She put the light on and one eye opened but he didn’t move. We could tell there was something wrong with him.”

They called the RSPCA and Inspector Phil Norman attended to collect the fox. He was taken to the charity’s Putney Animal Hospital, in London, where vets checked him over and monitored him.

While he seemed extremely weak and lethargic to begin with he soon perked up and staff could find nothing wrong with him.

A hospital spokesperson said: “He had got in through the cat flap and found a nice warm spot to sleep in. He was quite happy to be brought in to the hospital for a health check but was understandably not keen on being in a cage.

“Fortunately he was quite healthy with a beautiful fluffy coat, so after a thorough check over he was released back to the area he was found in by one of the hospital staff. Good luck Mr. Fox!”

Mr Fox was just one of the 10,000 animals the RSPCA expects to rescue this winter as a result of the 55,821 calls the animal welfare charity’s 24-hour cruelty hotline receives over Christmas.

This year the charity’s fundraising appeal hopes to raise money to help cover some of the costs over the festive period. The charity is asking the public to make donations by visiting www.rspca.org.uk/giftofkindness.

December 28, 2018