A few weeks ago we were asked to help with a cat trapped in someone’s garage. The cat was caught in a live trap and brought to the ark.
I don’t think any of us were prepared to see the condition the cat was in. His face was pretty torn up from the trap, he had an upper respiratory, he was emaciated, very dirty and matted. He was infested with fleas and he had wounds under all the filth and debris in his fur. He was dehydrated and had entropion in both eyes, meaning his eyelids were growing into his eyes. He was not neutered and we estimated him to be around 8 years old.
This poor orange tabby had been out there for a while in this condition and he wasn’t going to survive much longer.
We rushed him to the vet and we were all very skeptical about his chances of survival.
At the vet he was hydrated and had to be sedated to shave the mats off and clean his wounds. He was given a shot of antibiotics and a shot of pain meds. While he was sedated he was neutered. He had a full panel of bloodwork done and tested negative for aids and leukemia. The blood work showed he was anemic.
He was sent back to the sanctuary where he had to have his wounds cleaned twice a day and ointment put on them. He had to have drops in his eyes twice a day as well. He was put on antibiotics for a UTI.
As the days passed his wounds started to heal and despite everything he had been through he allowed us to handle him. He knew we were helping him.
His wounds have healed and he is scheduled for entropion surgery on both eyes in a couple of weeks.
We have named him Cheddar and we are all amazed at how well he has done. Despite the odds and the condition he was found in he has defied the odds. He never gave up, he still has so much life to live.
Cheddar does have some trust issues. Sudden movements scare him. He guards his food and if you try to take it he will use his claws, but that is to be expected. He has the sweetest little motor and loves to curl up in his nice clean bed and have his ears scratched.
Cheddar will be up for adoption once he gets a clean bill of health. His new family will need to understand Cheddar will be an indoor kitty only. They must be on file with a vet and have impeccable vet records and be financially stable.
We are sparing no expense to get Cheddar healthy and ready for adoption. His new humans must be able to do the same. Cheddar has lived a horrible life up until now and we are going to make sure that does not happen again.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
