The Ark has a kitten named Mouse and many of you have been following his story. For those of you who do not know, Mouse was born at The Ark just about four months ago.
Mouse’s entrance into this word was anything but smooth. He had two siblings that were born first and they did not survive. Mouse was born and his mother wanted nothing to do with him, she would not clean him or go near him.
We knew we had to act fast in order to save him. We cleaned up the afterbirth and cut the umbilical cord and placed him with another nursing mom who gladly accepted him as her own. We were amazed at this tiny grey kitten who was no bigger than a mouse and that is how he got his name.
The first few weeks everything was good and Mouse seemed like a normal happy kitten. As time went on we starting noticing a change in him — he wasn’t growing and he would cry a lot. One morning when I came in Mouse was really struggling and would not move. The phone calls were placed and Mouse was on his way to the vet in a matter hours. We waited anxiously for an update.
After a thorough examination the vet was stumped and called in another vet, who immediately started working on Mouse. It seems that he had a severe infection because the other kittens he was with were trying to nurse off him. Poor Mouse could not pee and was in a great deal of pain.
Mouse had an X-ray and an ultrasound which revealed that Mouse had a stone he could not pass. Mouse was put on antibiotics and pain meds to see if he could eventually pass the stone on his own. That did not happen and his pain had increased. Poor Mouse was too tiny to have surgery so we would have to wait until he weighed two pounds.
In the meantime his pain meds were increased which is not good for a kitten that small but there was no other alternative. Mouse had to be put on special diet which meant he could not eat kitten food which wasn’t exactly the best thing for him either.
At this point the vet clinic has become Mouse’s new home. He would remain there until his health issues were resolved. The days turned into weeks and it seems like an eternity but one day the phone call came that Mouse now weighed 2 pounds and was scheduled for surgery.
The day of his surgery we all sat on the edge of our seats and waited for the phone call. It came in the form of a text with a picture of Mouse in recovery. The surgery was a success and we were all crying tears of joy. This little guy had touched the hearts of so many, the world had fallen in love with him, and now was the beginning of a new chapter for Mouse.
The stone was removed and sent away to determine what kind of stone it was and how we would proceed with Mouses’ care. The results came back and Mouse will need a special diet.
Mouse will finally be coming back home to The Ark this week and we are all very excited to have him back
I know many of you have expressed interest in adopting Mouse when he is ready. In order to insure that Mouse goes somewhere where he will get the possible care the Ark is going to be very particular on his new home.
Love is not going to be enough to care for Mouse although it is very important and will be a part of the package. Mouse will require a special diet for life. For the first year of Mouse’s life there will need to be a vet visit along with an ultrasound for every season to insure there are no problems. The outlook for Mouse to live a happy and healthy life is good, but only if these steps are followed.
We all have become very fond of Mouse and want only the best for him. He has been through so much and deserves nothing but the best. He is one of the sweetest cats you will ever meet. He has overcome so much in his short life and despite it all he has landed on top! He never gave up and he fought hard just to live, he deserves the perfect home no matter how long it takes. We are all committed to making this happen.
We will be doing a Valentine’s Day cake sale on Feb.9 to help with Mouse’s medical bills. The cakes are $20 and three flavors available — chocolate, vanilla and carrot cake. Call order into Lorraine at 532-7387 or message us on Facebook.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
The Ark Animal Sanctuary is located on 101 Old Woodstock Road. To contact Lorraine Monfils call 532-7387 or check out their Facebook page.
