Please pray for stray kitty

Update on Blue

Thank you for your support!

I am a terrible judge of gender and age, LOL!

She is female. The tattoo in the right ear, (we are hoping) means she was part of a TNR program, but it indicates she is older, as tattoos are not done anymore. She has severe stomatitis, (extremely painful dental condition) the poor little thing.

She was just as sweet as she could be at the vet, soaking up all the love. Severe flea dermatitis (we hope that's all it is) Negative for FeLV/FIV/Heartworm.

Her name is Blue. I don't know why, it's just what came to me, when I thought she was male, I was calling her Little Boy Blue as we drove to the vet. Well she's not a little boy, but she is Blue.

I don't know what's going to happen to Blue. I can't take her in, and while I would be willing to pay for her dental work (vet thinks most would have to be extracted) it's not a decision to make lightly, because where will she go while recovering from her surgery? Who will take care of her? I cannot.

We decided to at least put her on an antibiotic to maybe help her mouth clear up a little, while waiting to see if anyone claims her. After discussing the pros and cons of liquid vs pills (vet felt I might cause her too much pain pilling, I was afraid she wouldn't eat food with liquid antibiotic mixed in) I agreed to the convenia shot.

However.....their water sterilizer went on the blink just at that time. So they couldn't make up the convenia. I couldn't wait around. They offered to keep her overnight, give her the antibiotic shot when they could make it up, feed her up, love her up. Coincidence? I think not.

There is something bigger than us working here for this kitty.

(by the way, with all that going on, we forgot to scan her for the chip. I called when I got home and asked that they do it while she's there over night, though, because of the old tattoo, I doubt one will be found)

So I have a night I won't have to worry about her, and who knows what tomorrow will bring. I'm going to talk to my vet tomorrow about boarding her there for the next couple of days, while I wait for any responses to my search.

While there, she will have loving hands caring for her, and they can give her pain meds while her fate is being decided. She won't be able to have anything for pain if I put her back in the yard. This morning I spoke at great length to the Shelter manager where I adopted Mazy from over six years ago, she remembers Mazy and was delighted to hear about her.

Her suggestion is that I wait a few days to see if anyone makes a claim. If not, I am to call her back and she will try to find a place for Blue at the shelter. I will be honest about the condition of Blue's teeth and offer to sponsor her for the dental work, if they will take her in.

Jess: no garage to shelter her in, I live in a tiny second floor apartment.

Bue's Fate

I've got good news!

This morning I spoke to the Shelter manager. She has agreed to take Blue, if I have the dental work done on my end. My vet is going to work up an estimate for me, and get her on the dental surgery schedule as soon as possible. In the mean time Blue will remain at the vet, being doted on, fed and given pain medication. I didn't ask how much the boarding will cost me, because it doesn't make any difference, I can NOT put her back out on the street.

The Shelter Manager has even offered to pick Blue up at the vet after her surgery, when she is ready to go to the shelter! The shelter may end up being her forever home, but on the other hand she is so incredibly sweet, there may be a special person out there just waiting for her So pray there is one like that for Blue, but no matter what, what she's going to is better than where she was.

Update on Blue!

Thank you so much for your kind words, Jess and Purple-Hops.

Blue's surgery is over. My vet came in on her day off to do that surgery. How can I ever thank her for that.

All Blue's teeth were extracted. My vet said her mouth was a terrible mess. Bones fused together, osteomyletis (severe bone infection) rotting teeth, and a lesion on her tongue indicating a previous injury. ( How does a cat get an injury on her tongue? I don't want to know.)

What that poor little girl must have been suffering. It breaks my heart to think of it. Some might think she would have been better off euthanized, with such serious issues. Put her out of her pain, you know? If I hadn't met her I might even have thought that myself. I am a firm believer of: 'there are worse things than a peaceful death'.

But I did meet her and a cat as sweet as she is, so sweet and friendly and loving even with the terrible pain she was in, so determined to live and spread her sweetness around, Blue surely deserves a chance at a nice life. She deserves all the love she can get, and she is one to soak up the love. I still break out into weeping when I think of how much pain she was in.

Vet wants to keep her at the hospital for a few days so they can care for her properly, and keep an eye on that bone infection. I am relieved about that, and so is my Shelter Contact. If all goes well, Shelter Contact will be picking Blue up from the vet on Tuesday morning, and then her new life can get started.

The shelter is a good one. The people who work there are loving compassionate and kind. The cats are well cared for, the place is very clean. My Mazy cat came from there, and I had many visits there before Mazy showed up, so I am pretty familiar with the place. I've stopped in on occasion to donate cat food. I'm always greeted with a smile and gratitude and a few cats coming over to say hello. Blue will have a nice life there with the lifers, even if she never gets adopted, but I still have this feeling that there is a soulmate out there for her.

I feel so strongly that Blue will have a Meant To Be Moment and live out the rest of her life in the comfort and love she so deserves.

I will continue to update, so when you see this thread show up in your subscribed list, do have a look.

Thank you for your support!

Purple-Hops said:

wow, what a sin!! Poor thing, she's all better now and ready to start anew. Even if its just to retire. My boyfriend's dad's cat Cheeks (for obvious reasons) had all his teeth extracted too. He's still the same cat. They adopted him from the shelter and he was obviously an ex-tom cat (hence his name). .He's a grand senior too now with no teeth. Very sweet cat!

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Cheeks, hee hee you know, I did picture a big headed Tom when I first read that!

Jess said:

Wow, what a lucky kitty Blue is that you found her! Poor baby.
Now that she has no more teeth, will she have to be on a special diet of mush?


I'm not really a cat person, but she sounds so sweet that I seriously wish I could adopt her.

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Cats can do just fine without teeth, as long as they don't have to hunt for their food. Most cats don't bite kibble anyway, they swallow it whole, but of course I hope she gets plenty of canned food at the shelter anyway, since it is better for her.

She is so sweet and would make some loving person a wonderful companion.

If I didn't already have four I would have taken her in, but four is my limit. That was why I was so desperate to get her teeth taken care of, so the shelter could take her. The shelter is 'no-kill' but they sometimes still have to make the unpleasant choice of deciding who will live and who won't. They won't euthanize a healthy cat (but may not have room to take one either) but a cat with serious health problems (meaning not only expensive, but time and personnel consuming) does not have a good chance of making it, even in the nice shelter we have here.

Plus, I know Blue was not meant for me. For me to save yes, but not to adopt. All my cats Chose me, from the moment I met each of them in their unique needing-to-be-rescued situations, I knew we were meant to be together. I did not feel that with Blue, I only felt a driving need to help her.

I hope to stop in and visit her tomorrow.

Thanks for the support you two, it means a lot to me.

I went to visit Blue this morning! She is SO HAPPY! Eating every chance she gets, loving loving loving. My gosh even now she is so thin I don't know how she survived, and with no organ damage. But her skin is already starting to heal from the flea dermatitis, she's grooming herself and talking up a storm. She's charmed the staff at the clinic and is not lacking for love and care while there.

My vet is cautiously optimistic, there was quite a bit of bone loss where the bone infection was. And of course, there's no knowing yet if this is the kind of stomatitis that is going to come back, even after the teeth are gone, but we can pray that it won't.

Her whiskers are HUGE! LOL! I fed her a bag of whiska treats the tech gave me while I waited for my vet to come in to talk to me. I meant to bring my camera, but forgot it. I wanted to get some video of her walking around, when she moves it really shows how emaciated she still is, but it won't be long now before she fills out. She is a small cat, even smaller than Queen Eva I think.

I'll get to see her one more time, on Monday when I go in to pay the bill I'll visit with her again, and then on Tuesday morning she will be picked up by the Shelter Manager. I'll be sure to ask her to let me know if/when Blue gets adopted.

The clinic is not charging me for the boarding/hospital stay (which will total one week by the time she is released), just the dental surgery, medicines, and of course her initial visit, where she had her SNAP tests, check up and rabies vaccine and convenia shot. Whatever the final tab, it's worth every penny to me, to see this sweet beautiful happy cat free of pain and getting a chance for a loving life.

I can't stop smiling over it all.

Blue needs more prayers

We found out today that Blue is hyperthyroid. My vet was concerned that she is eating so voraciously and has not gained any weight, so she did an in house blood test today. 4.7 is the outer range of normal and Blue's T-4 came back 5.

I don't know what this will mean for Blue's future at the shelter. I had no way of contacting the Shelter Manager who will be picking Blue up tomorrow to let her know this latest development. (the shelter is closed on Mondays, and she, the shelter manager, was off)

My vet said she would speak to Shelter contact in the morning. Please say a prayer, or send vibes that somehow this works out all right for Blue. I can't bear the thought of getting her this far and then having to let her go. I can't take her. I have to consider the quality of life of my four (and myself) and a fifth cat is just not doable. I've been hoping someone at the vet would fall in love with her, and they all have. Many staff came up to me today to share a story about Blue. But as you can imagine, their homes are all already full, too.

Maybe the shelter has a foster network for special needs cats, I don't know. I want so much for this little cat to have a nice life. My vet is guessing she is about 10 years old, but we can't really know.

I've got some pictures I took today, just have to edit them for size. Her coat has grown in some and is very soft and thickening. But you'll see how painfully thin she still is.

Thanks for keeping Blue in your thoughts and prayers a while longer.