Starving and emaciated Russian Blue therapy cat reunited with mom after being stolen and dumped

Salem, Oregon, USA: In December 2017, a twelve-year-old Russian Blue therapy cat was stolen from Tammy Crowell who gets around in a wheelchair. The cat’s name is Stevie and he was stolen from Tammy’s apartment in Salem, Oregon.

Tammy believes she knows the thief and where her cat was cruelly abandoned. Stevie disappeared although there had been some sightings about ten miles from his home in a place called Stayton.

Moving forward to August 10 2018, Jodie Lynn tells us in her Facebook post how she received a call from a cousin from whom she had not heard for two years to say that a cat had been found outside her apartment complex. The cat was starving, emaciated and in the words of Jodie ‘looking half dead’.

Jodie Lynn is involved in cat rescue and she went to help and found this stationary gray cat lying on the pavement. Others had tried to get the cat to eat and succeeded in getting him to eat a small amount before he collapsed.

Raced to a Veterinarian

Jodie scooped him up into a carrier and took him to her vet. At that time she didn’t realise it was Stevie who she knew because she knew Tammy. I think they are close friends. She intended to drop off the gray cat in the hope he’d be treated and eventually re-homed via the local humane society because she did not have the funds to care for a sick cat.

Stevie was scanned for a microchip (not sure what that produced in terms of identification) but they did not offer to help further so Jodie went across town to another veterinary clinic which I believe to be the VCA Salem Animal Hospital on Commercial St..

There the staff were welcoming and they fed the cat whose identity at the time was still uncertain. He was indeed starving and gulped down his food. They evaluated his condition and Jodie took photos.

Jodie then recalled Tammy’s post about the theft of her cat. Jodie added one of her photos to Tammy’s post and Tammy responded immediately to say she’d contact the clinic.

Identification and Reunion

The clincher in identifying Stevie was that he has a severe underbite. According to Jodie it is unmistakeable and you can see it in the photo with Jodie. Tammy immediately went to the hospital and…in the words of Jodie who witnessed the reunion:

“When she walked in the door and kissed him, he immediately started to purr and curled up in her arms. With happy tears streaming down all of our faces this reunion was long coming and well deserved…He was found just a block from home! He made it, he found his way home only to collapse just yards from his mommas door!”

Jodie says that Stevie’s paws were raw and rough and he had lost half his body weight and was emaciated and dehydrated.

He had been found a block away from his home. It seems he was making his way back home. The veterinarian gave him sub Q fluids and treated him for fleas and all but waived their fee (he charged a nominal sum of money).

Still Ill

Stevie is still critically ill according to Jodie. He may be diabetic. His veterinarian is Aumsville Clinic. Jodie says: “STEVIE THE WONDER CAT! Isn’t he beautiful!” He sure is.

If anyone can help financially please contact Jodie or Tammy. My thanks to Jodie for writing her great post which is the source for this article, and for contacting me.

The Theft

P.S. It has just occurred to me: what about catching the thief? What happened there? I presume by the way that Stevie was stolen because he is a purebred all-gray cat. Jodie tells me that there is an active police case so it appears that the theft is being investigated.

Update

Stevie is eating well (every two hours at night!) but is still ill. He has fluid in his abdomen. This may be quite serious and could indicate heart disease but I won’t speculate. Some blood work will be done very soon. He is glued to Tammy’s side and delighted to be back home. Expect to see the story in some local online newspapers soon!

Info on the Russian Blue.