This is the happy ending story of a semi-feral cat, a McDonald’s fast food establishment and a group of cat advocates who got help quickly for a critically injured cat. Without everyone coming together, an innocent cat would have died a slow and painful death after he became the victim of a car fan blade.
Sherbert is a ginger beauty who along with his littermate and several friends would eat at a South Bend, Indiana McDonald’s each night. The night manager (sorry, I don’t have a name) would see the small colony never went hungry. When Sherbert showed up over the weekend he was severely injured. The photo of him with all of his tail fur missing and his rear leg seriously mangled quickly went viral on Facebook.
The Meow Mission, founded in 2011, is located in Mishawaka, Indiana. They’ve helped over 1,000 community cats with their spay/neuter. They decided to take on this poor kitty and have kept everyone updated on his condition. It took a day to finally trap Sherbert (along with his family) and get him to a safe place until he could be seen by a veterinarian.
Everyone was worried after Sherbert was trapped because he refused food and water. As of Sunday night, Sherbert was reported drinking and eating tuna. Sherbert underwent surgery on Monday and is recovering with Rachel, a volunteer for The Meow Mission. He did great, despite losing his tail and his rear leg, which was already starting to rot. Sherbert was also neutered on Monday. A full recovery is expected and his vet agrees a car fan blade was the probably cause of his injuries.
Despite being in good hands with Rachel, Sherbert is scared. Rachel surprised him with some comfort food in the form of a McDonald’s hamburger. Sherbert will be placed with a rescue or up for adoption following his recovery. There are dozens of cat lovers out there who have already expressed their desire to give Sherbert a forever home.
There are so many people to thank in this effort to save one little homeless cat, including the Facebook community who worked tirelessly to spread the word and then offered to donate to his care.
I know I haven’t given credit to everyone responsible, so please feel free to add information in the comments. Lisa Noetzel Fair with The Meow Mission was on top of the rescue plan from the beginning as was the McDonald’s manager so thank you Lisa and McDonalds. To the others, I hope you’ll be thanked here so we all know who you are, including other volunteers who are with the rescue.
Anyone wishing to help with the vet expenses for Sherbert and his family, please click here.
It’s nice to see everyone working together to save a cat. It shows his life matters and despite our differences on Facebook, the life of an injured cat came first. There are far too few happy endings to report these days. I feel privileged to have been a part of this one by sharing Sherbert’s story.
Please comment on Facebook to spread the word. Please click “Also post on Facebook”. Thanks:
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Sherbert’s vet bill is covered but anyone wishing to donate to the rescue is encouraged to do so. Money is always needed for the next emergency to come up.
Hopefully, he will be socialized by Rachel to the point where he can be adopted. It becomes very easy to socialize when this sort of tragedy occurs, because trust is built.
Good point Dee. There is a lot of good will in this rescue. It is heartwarming.
Thanks for a great cat story, Elisa. I enjoyed it.