A pair whose cat has repeatedly cheated dying after being brutally attacked by 4 canine and surviving coronavirus have described him as “the bravest and costliest cat within the UK” after his medical payments soared to £25,000.
The pet has now price them their summer time vacation.
Katie Courts, 47, a yoga teacher and her husband Paul Giller, 51, a pc programmer, from Dovercourt, Essex, have been leaving their home on Might 6 2024, when the canine they mentioned seemed to be “bullies” attacked their ragdoll cat Billie.
Paul tried to maintain Billie away from the off-lead canine by selecting him up, however the cat wrestled free and one of many canine bit down on his head, leaving him with an virtually severed tongue and crushed jaw..
Billie spent three weeks in a specialist animal hospital the place he got here near dying a number of occasions after growing sepsis and anaemia earlier than being discharged, leaving Katie and Paul with a £14,000 invoice – half of which was lined by their insurance coverage.
The couple, who’ve two kids, Myla, 10, and Aidan, six, at the moment are going through one other £6,000 invoice for surgical procedure after Billie managed to take away his cone collar in the course of the night time and gnaw his leg, which can must be amputated.
Katie and Paul determined to sacrifice their financial savings for his or her beloved cat and have now been pressured to cancel their summer time vacation to Ohio in America as they can’t afford it or to go away him alone.
This isn’t the primary time Billie has used up certainly one of his 9 lives. He cheated dying a number of years in the past when he contracted cat Covid, a illness which on the time normally proved deadly, however survived after Paul paid for a £4,000 trial remedy.
The couple say in complete they are going to have spent £25,000 on Billie’s vet payments.
“Mainly, all our financial savings at the moment are gone and we’ve simply needed to cancel our vacation to America in a few the weeks,” Katie, who additionally has a pet cockapoo referred to as Sula and one other cat referred to as Lillie, instructed PA Actual Life.
“Billie is the bravest and costliest cat. I can’t consider he survived every thing life has thrown at him and so long as he desires to stay we are going to preserve discovering the funding.
“When you have a canine that may trigger injury to every other residing creature, whether or not it’s a cat, human or one other canine, they need to simply be on a leash and beneath management always.”
When Katie and Paul obtained Billie 4 and half years in the past they have been residing in a 600-year-old farm home surrounded by fields in Wrabness, Essex.
They discovered Billie “behaved extra like a canine”, accompanying them on nation walks throughout lockdown.
“It was simply one thing he at all times did, he would include us and trot at our heels across the fields, virtually like he thought he was a canine, it was so candy,” mentioned Katie.
The couple moved to Dovercourt on the coast in Might 2021 and Billie quickly turned “fairly well-known” amongst locals who have been shocked to see a cat going for walks with them on the seaside.
“Folks would at all times cease us and say, ‘Gosh, you taking your cat for a stroll?’ and we’d have amusing about it, everybody beloved him,” Katie mentioned.
On Might 6 Paul headed out for an morning stroll and true to kind, Billie was proper behind him.
They barely made it via the backyard again gate when a lady immediately appeared with 4 canine off the lead, which Paul mentioned seemed to be “bullies”.
Instinctively, Paul instantly picked up Billie to guard him – a choice he now regrets.
“All of the canine rushed up and began leaping up at Paul and scratching him to try to get at Billie,” mentioned Katie.
“After all, Billie was going mad and scratching Paul too, and he ended up with gashes down his face and throughout his arms.”
Paul tried to stroll away and defuse the state of affairs, however Billie managed to interrupt free and leaped onto the bottom.
“My husband dived in and noticed the jaws of the largest canine simply shut round Billie’s head and at that time he thought Billie was misplaced,” she added.
By some “miracle” the canine loosened its grip and Paul was capable of scoop Billie up earlier than dashing again into the home.
Katie instantly took Billie to an emergency vet in Colchester and was instructed he won’t make it via the night time.
The following morning, he was rushed to the DWR Veterinary Specialists in Newmarket, a two-hour drive away, the place Billie spent the following three weeks.
“The dental workforce, beneath the management of surgeon Gerrard Putter, and the ICU nurses labored tirelessly to save lots of his life and actually carried out miracles on his mouth,” mentioned Katie.
“The general invoice for these three weeks together with the primary night time of emergency care was £15,000 and our insurance coverage lined the primary seven.
A CT scan revealed Billie’s tongue had virtually been severed on the root and his jaws had been “fully crushed” on each side.
Billie underwent two surgical procedures, first to re-attach his tongue after which wire his jaws again collectively however then developed sepsis from a untreated wound on his leg, hid beneath his fur.
Katie was instructed to “say her goodbyes” however after having a blood transfusion, Billie bounced again and he was capable of return residence per week later.
His restoration was going nicely when one night after Katie and Paul had gone to mattress Billie managed to take away his protecting cone and started chewing his wounded leg.
“By the following morning, he had chewed via the ligaments of his leg,” mentioned Katie.
The couple will discover out on Wednesday whether or not vets can function or if Billie’s leg must be amputated.
The process prices one other £6,000, cash which Katie and Paul don’t have.
To assist increase funds, Katie has launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe asking for individuals to sponsor her to finish 108 solar salutations – a well-liked yoga sequence.
However this isn’t the primary time Billie has used certainly one of his 9 lives.
After Katie and Paul moved to Dovercourt, Billie turned “very quiet and misplaced weight” to the purpose the place Katie took him to see the vet.
He was recognized with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), an unusual however critical illness brought on by feline coronavirus, in response to vet charity the PDSA.
“I used to be instructed that it’s fairly frequent in breed cats beneath two years outdated and it was at all times deadly,” mentioned Katie.
“He was put in an oxygen tent and (it was) principally mentioned, we are able to drain his lungs however we are able to’t treatment this.
“I used to be clearly devastated.”
Not wanting to surrender hope, Paul started researching on-line and discovered the College of Edinburgh was trialling a remedy referred to as Remdesivir which had been used to deal with Covid in people.
Their vet referred to as the college which agreed for Billie to obtain the remedy, involving a day by day injection for 3 months.
“Three months later he had crushed it,” she mentioned.
“He was one of many first cats within the nation to do that drug and the vets gave us a little bit certificates.
“He wasn’t insured on the time and that remedy price us £4,000.
“He had already survived all that after which (the canine assault) has occurred.”
Katie hopes Billie’s expertise will encourage individuals to maintain aggressive canine on a leash, as she fears her kids may be in danger.
The couple are ready to seek out out whether or not Billie’s leg could be mounted and the general public have already helped them increase greater than £1,450 for the operation.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the assist,” Katie mentioned.
“After what occurred, I used to be feeling fairly upset about how some individuals could be actually horrible and this GoFundMe has restored my religion in how wonderful individuals could be.”
Essex Police have mentioned the assault on Billie will not be a police matter and Katie has now reported the incident to the canine warden.
To assist Katie and Paul go to: gofundme.com/f/a9psw-saving-billie
