The photographs graphically tell us how hard life can be for a stray cat living outside all the time picking up illnesses and injuries. It just wears them down and shortens life considerable. You can see this in his eyes. He has had enough.
Ted is beat up. He has been out in the cold for a long time we are told. The lady who runs the Ivy’s Story on Facebook page says he has been a stray for a long time and is in bad shape. He looks in bad shape. He looks down and fed up. It is a sign that he is in pain. He has tested negative for the usual diseases but blood work indicated that he has issues with his kidneys and liver. It is hoped that good nutrition will resolve the liver and kidney issues.
He is anaemic and has a condition that I have not heard of before: mush foot. This is plasma cell pododermatitis. It is believed to be an autoimmune disease but experts are not sure. It might be an allergic reaction. It is painful as his paw is inflamed. His paw is badly infected. He was reluctant to take his medication which includes antibiotics. It was stressful getting the pills down him. However, his carer put liquid antibiotic into strained chicken baby food and he ate it all. I love to read that. It is a good feeling when you now he has the medicine inside him doing some good. It helps his carer to believe that he will feel better. It is quite painful emotionally to see an animal in distress.
“The strained chicken or strained beef baby food is also good for ill cats or kittens who either don’t feel like eating or are too young to eat kitten food. Just make sure it’s pure chicken or beef and there is no onion or garlic added.”
He also needs dental treatment which is unsurprising. Even well cared for cats need dental treatment. Finally he is yet to be neutered. The dental and neuter work can wait as more urgent work needed first.
The medication has cost $435 so far. That’s a lot of meeds. His fine carer – I don’t know her name – says that she wants Ted to know comfort. That I can understand.
After two days he has a long way to go but looking a bit better…
I just wanted to present this little cat rescue story because it highlights (a) the tough life that street cats can live (not all stray cats have equally tough times however) and (b) how beautiful the lady is who is caring for him.
Update 2 days later: He has improved and looks more lively. That’s a bit of food on his chin. His nictitating membranes are visible over the corner of his eyes indicating ill health. But they seem to have retracted slightly. Great.
Thank you for letting us know, and sending the picture. His eyes look much better, and must be reflecting how he feels. Is he a polydachtyl? Looks like it from those big paws!
Update: Teddy continues to improve!
Thank you, Sandra, for your donation! Teddy continues to improve, much to our delight and to the surprise of our Vets!
Leesa, Thank you for your caring heart, and the wonderful reply to Sarah!
Please keep us at POC in the loop. I’ll send a donation to your FB page.
Ah, yes, thank you Michael! I merely hit the last “Reply” link I saw, which was in response to you and not Sarah, for whom the reply was intended. Thanks for your help in correcting it. 🙂
This is a reply from Leesa. Her response is directed at Sarah but she misplaced the comment, so I have repositioned it as a rely to Sarah.:
No, Sarah. Teddy was a solitary stray in a downtown neighbourhood, NOT part of a colony and was never TNR’ed as such. He’s at least 12 years old (perhaps more!) and was NEVER neutered as he should have been years ago by either his owner (who obviously abandoned him) or some of the people who have been feeding him for over a decade. He’s also proven to be friendly (once the antibiotics started working and his pain and inflammation lessened) and is quite handleable now, so he is NOT a feral cat after all. Also, I am NOT “the criminal who fed this cat for years outdoors until it got this bad and is now exploiting its suffering for money” as you say, as I was NOT the person feeding him all those years, and I did NOT even know of his existence until the people feeding him sought help for him because of his obvious suffering. I AM the person caring for him now however, and I am certainly NOT exploiting him for money; I run a rescue that relies on donations, but we do not exploit ANY of our rescue cats for money, and I spend far more on them than all of the donations cover, I can assure you! You are entitled to your opinion, of course, but who are you to say that I should let him die? Or suggest (by claiming that he is being exploited) that people who want to donate to my rescue for his care should not do so? I will NOT let this cat (or any other in my care) suffer if he cannot recover, but the Vet says that there was nothing so severe in Teddy’s exam or blood tests to suggest that he cannot recover (even considering the kidney and liver values that were “off”, unless the malnutrition he suffered has done more organ damage than the tests show thus far), so I am giving him that chance to recover and know a good life for whatever time he has left. Teddy is becoming more affectionate every day, and even purrs when you pet him now. Yet you think I should have let him die? I don’t think so. And since he is my rescue, I believe that is my choice.