Glasgow man fundraises for Cats Protection in memory of his own cat

Adrian Abbott, 48, is taking on the Snowdon Trek and is donating all funds to Cats Protection in Glasgow.

He was inspired to fundraise for the charity after seeing how the organisation helps cats like his own, Grumbles, who was nursed back to health and became his faithful companion when he was very ill.

Adrian said: “My wife got Grumbles from Cats Protection. They had nowhere to keep her, so they advertised to get her homed quick.

“She had been very badly mistreated, starved and covered in fleas and scabs, which they treated.

“When we got her she had loads of fur missing and was very thin.

“They said she probably won’t make it as her heart was poorly, but she pulled through and we got her.”

Grumbles was very badly mistreated when Adrian and his wife took her in

Adrian, who is originally from Derbyshire but lives in Easterhouse, admitted he was never a fan of cats but once his wife Jordan got her, Grumbles completely changed him.

He said: “I was never a cat person but that soon changed once we got her, she became very clingy to me, and I just couldn’t not love her.

“I taught her to give a paw like a dog, which she did all the time if you asked her. She made your heart melt.”

Adrian viewed Grumbles not only as a pet, but as his rock when he became seriously ill with Covid and required medical attention from paramedics on one occasion.

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He said: “I got Covid when it first came out, we had just got back from New York at the time, where they had just faced a massive lockdown the day after we flew back home.

“I had covid for over eight weeks and was very ill, there were no such thing as a vaccine back then.

“There were times I thought I would never pull through this as I was getting no better.”

Adrian was never a cat person until he got Grumbles

Adrian battled covid in isolation with only Grumbles for company, as his wife worked in Dundee and was in close contact with her mother, so he didn’t want her to go back and forth and potentially spread it.

He said: “Grumbles kept me going as I had to feed her and so on.

"She saved my life.

“She was amazing, and I loved her dearly. She was very attached to me and always by my side.”

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While Adrian made a full recovery from Covid, Grumbles became very unwell again.

He said: “She had trouble with her kidneys which we paid over £6000 to get treated and we got another six months out of her before she got too ill.

“Eventually she stopped eating and was getting worse so had to have her put to sleep.

“I was devastated, totally. I still get upset most days now because she meant everything to me.”

Grumbles was there for Adrian when he had covid

Now Adrian is highlighting the work Cats Protection do for animals who have been abandoned, mistreated and who desperately need rehomed.

He said: “As I have found out, cats are simply amazing, kind, loving, affectionate creatures. To think of all those cats that are ill or need a loving home is heart-breaking.

“Cats Protection do so much to ensure cats are treated and looked after until they get a loving home to go to.”

Adrian will be completing the Snowdon Trek on May 20, and you can donate to his fundraiser here.