At Woodlands, it is sadly not uncommon to see the saddest elements of human society, and the bearing this has on an animal’s wellbeing. Pet owners who should know better entrusted with animals who have known nothing else.

It’s a sorry fact that many people embark on the journey of ‘ownership’ of an animal without understanding the demands that may be placed upon them. People without pet insurance faced with treatment that they can’t afford. People whose cat suddenly becomes pregnant, and they’re faced with care costs rising fivefold. People who are smitten by a particular cat breed for their looks though unaware of what their needs and behaviour entail, leading to incompatibility. These animals often end up without a home and stray. The lucky ones are taken to a vet or a rescue centre is contacted for help. The other side of the coin is being dumped in a sack, or, in a case we worked on last year, doused in petrol.

That said, we couldn’t do what we do for these animals without also seeing the best of humanity. The generosity of donors who help keep our doors open. The passion and commitment of our volunteers who clean our cat pens while teaching them to socialise cats so that they’re ready for rehoming. The watchfulness and compassion of the public who are often the start of a cat’s journey into Woodlands meaning they have a second chance at life.

Today's tale is one of the latter. One of care, compassion and commitment.

In late May 2025, a woman noticed a scruffy black and brown cat regularly appearing in her garden. The cat was wary, half-wild, clearly living rough. Instinctively, the lady started putting food out. Nothing lavish, just a quiet unspoken routine. The cat, who we’d later name Opal, would eat and disappear off again into the scrub at the bottom of the garden.

With trust slowly building between the two, one day the lady decided to follow her feline visitor. Keeping a distance, she followed the cat as it slinked away, acting like it was on an urgent, secret mission. A mission that would end in a surprising discovery. Barely visible in a drainage ditch, in a field at the back of her house, were two young kittens. Scraggly and in poor health. Given the proximity there could be no doubt Opal was the mother. At around eight or nine weeks old, fur matted with dirt and fleas; they were in extremely poor health despite mum’s best efforts.

The lady rushed back to the scene with a cat carrier, trying not to think about how long they'd been down there with the aim of bringing them all to safety. Opal went in first, with one kitten being coaxed in after her. But the second kitten panicked and bolted into the undergrowth.

The woman searched but fruitlessly. Concerned that a kitten that size, that young, wouldn't survive long alone, though could rest assured that she had saved two.

Back at the house, the lady did her best to care for the mum and son that she’d rescued. Ensuring food, and warmth but sadly after a few days their condition deteriorated, hastened by their condition before the comfort of rescue and something which no amount of love or food could ever cure.

That’s when we got the phone call. Brought into our care the pair, now named Opal and Ozzy, were cleaned, fed, and after a quick check up given an appointment for a more thorough review by a vet. Ozzy in particular was a concern since one eye was clouded over and looked badly infected.

With the mum and son now safely in our care and getting the health treatments they urgently needed, the lady who had found them was unable to move on. Every day, she’d take the path down from her house, into the field and down towards the ditch she’d found Opal and Ozzy in. She left food out, just in case.

Four days later, movement could be made out from within the ditch.

The second kitten had made it back. This time there was no panicking, no bolting into the undergrowth as hands reached out to scoop the kitten up to safety.

Back at Woodlands, experience had hardened us to the likelihood that, considering the perilous state of her mum and brother, the kitten would likely have perished. Imagine the looks on our faces when the lady turned up at the sanctuary with a cat carrier containing kitten number two, now named Olive, it was as if a miracle had happened.

We could see from the off that Olive was in a worse state than her brother and mum. Her left eye was also badly inflamed and matted with puss. She was malnourished, covered in fleas and dirt, and sick with flu. We got to work, swiftly, but carefully. Scared, hungry and now in a world full of big, strange humans, Olive had already suffered unimaginably.

A visit to an eye specialist confirmed the devastating impact from so many days surviving in the wild. Olive's left eye webbed with adhesions that would affect her vision forever, Ozzy's showed similar damage, though thankfully less severe. Both would need eye drops for life whilst Olive may one day require surgery.  Still for the time being, they all needed lots of nutrition, care plus the socialisation that they’d missed out on as strays. To learn how to play, and to discover what makes humans tick too, in order to be ready for their new life amongst them.

After many days apart Olive and Ozzy were finally reunited in preparation for them being rehomed together as a bonded pair. They’d survived so many tough days together that it was deemed only fair that they get to share their happier, more comfortable days together too.

Back at the sanctuary, the days rolled on as they rehabilitated and adapted to life outside of a drainage ditch.

Finally ready to find a home, all three were soon chosen by people touched by their journey. Olive and Ozzy were rehomed together, as brother and sister should be. And Opal? Well as fate would have it, she returned to live with the woman who'd fed her for weeks on end. The same woman who appeared with a carrier and who kept checking the garden when everyone else had given up hope

Compassion now being rewarded with a life of companionship.

We don’t know the terrible circumstances that led to Opal being stray in the first place, but she’s now seen the best side of humans in her new owner. Her rescuer, now friend.