Written by Sabrina Oschmann
Professional photography by Nat Gold ZA
Fluffy one-eyed ginger cat Bundi was adopted from the TEARS Animal Rescue about eight years ago. From a young age, he’d often roam the block, visiting neighbours, but always returned home. That is, until December 2018 when we moved to a different neighbourhood in Hout Bay. Bundi left soon after we’d settled in and wouldn’t return for a long time…
I doubted myself
After advertising his disappearance and checking in at the local shelters and vets for weeks on end, we all assumed the worst: that Bundi was not alive anymore.
But then, on the 14th of February 2021, while I was at work at the Hout Bay Pet Plus, I saw a post on the Hout Bay Organised Facebook group: a badly injured one-eyed ginger cat had been brought to Penzance Veterinary Clinic. A Hout Bay resident had found him hiding underneath her car. She’d contacted DARG for help, and Jeremy Braaf of DARG had managed to get the terrified, injured cat out from under the car then rushed him to Penzance Veterinary Clinic.
When I saw the post, I instantly recognised Bundi, but because it had been so long – over two years – I still doubted myself. I phoned the veterinary clinic and asked them to check Bundi’s records and when they’d removed his eye so that they could check if anything matched this ginger cat.
My manager, Monique Dos Santos, kindly gave me permission to go and see the cat for myself to make sure it was Bundi. I was very emotional because, after discussing it with my parents and seeing the horrific pictures of the injuries to his neck, head, and shoulders, I felt I was going to the vet with the thought of putting him to sleep. But how could I when he’d reappeared in our lives after being gone for so long? I really felt it was meant to be – that he was my gift after a year filled with Covid-19 challenges.
He recognised me
Dr Brendan Brady, the vet who was helping Bundi, advised that I see him first before making any big decisions. When I did, the tears kept flowing seeing the state he was in. But it looked like he recognised me, and he even started meowing and rubbing his raw, wounded head against me. Dr Brendan suspected that Bundi had gotten caught on a fence, causing a big open wound on the back of his neck and, due to his allergies, he scratched it open and thereafter went into the sun, which had then burnt the open skin. It was so bad that it looked like someone had thrown hot water onto him or he’d been burnt by a blowtorch.
Bundi had to spend two weeks at the veterinary clinic as they nursed his injuries to a point where we could manage his recovery at home, since he kept scratching his wounds open. He had to wear a bandage for some time, and now he’s been in a cone for two weeks.
All the vets at Penzance Veterinary Clinic were so involved in his amazing recovery – kind, thoughtful, and accommodating. Every afternoon before practice manager Carmen Muller went home, she opened Bundi’s cage so that he could roam around a bit and stretch his legs. (Carmen couldn’t hide her emotions when she said goodbye; Bundi had become “part of the furniture”!)
Aside from his terrible visible wounds, Bundi was also diagnosed with hay fever, feline herpes and a condition called entropion, which affects the eyelids. All these can be treated, except for the cat herpes, but Brendon said many cats live happy lives regardless. He’d really been through the wars, and he now has some bald patches where his hair will never grow back
Home for good
We’ll never know the full story of where Bundi was the whole time, but before the DARG hero, Jeremy Braaf, brought him to Penzance Veterinary Clinic earlier this year, Xenia Wenzelburger, a lady with the biggest heart ever who lived in our old neighbourhood, had been looking after him for the last six to eight months. Before he was found under the car, Xenia hadn’t seen him for 10 days. Where he was in between, who knows.
Even though Xenia had cats of her own, she still took care of Bundi, including treating him for ticks and fleas, and caring for his remaining eye, which often gets inflamed and irritated. When he’d first arrived, he was very skinny and meowed all the time because he was hungry. She fed him mince, chicken, and tuna – he got so spoilt by her that he was a fat cat of 5.8kg when he was brought to the vet by Jeremy.
Bundi’s now been home for about seven weeks. He still needs to wear a cone to keep him from scratching open the small part of his wound that’s not completely healed yet. But he’s doing well so far.
All that matters is that he’s home, he’s safe, he’s found his favourite napping spots (touching his humans’ bodies as he stretches out to full-length), he eats well, and he loves playing with his dog brother and sister. Thank you to all who helped Bundi. We can’t believe that after TWO YEARS, surviving out in the wild with only one eye, someone found him and brought him into Penzance Vet, and now he’s back home with his family.
