When you love a little cat

It's been an eventful summer - something I've come to gradually accept as part of life when you live with 30+ rescue cats. When you rescue a stray or a dumpster cat there's simply no telling what their "medical record" is. You don't know what they might be a carrier of or what other at first hidden weaknesses they have. 

I first mentioned this beautiful little boy named Snowy back in mid-June. Rescued by his night in shining armour (DH) at some point when I was away. At the point of rescue he suffered a nasty flu and an accompanying respiratory infection. Also he was quite emaciated but through lots of TLC he quickly put on some weight and became a super active little guy even though he struggled to fully get rid of the respiratory infection.

 Snowy in the hands of his knight in shining armour!

The flu went but the respiratory infection persisted in spite of several antibiotic treatments. We first got a whiff of the severity one day on our way back home from the vet where he had just had an antibitotic shot. He suddenly collapsed in the car on our way back home. I was able to get him around again quite quickly and then we sped back home - lets just say way beyond the speed limit! We were kind of surprised because at that point the vet did not detect any wrongful noises on his lungs. Anyhow... lots of rest and he appeared well recovered again. 

Until a few weeks later when I was in the garden one early evening (during an extended heat wave). With several cats around as usual, and Snowy too. He was playing around my legs and suddenly collapsed on my feet. This time too I was able to get him back and rushed him inside a cool and shady room. Only this time he actually went into a very bad fit of hyper-ventilation - eyes suddenly glazed over and the white appearing instead. Then things went real fast... phoning the vet who appeared on our doorstep 20 minuttes later. I simply didn't dare move him in this state. Remarkably by the time the vet arrived Snowy had gradually come around again  - once again able to stand on his legs and breathing without hyper-ventilating. The vet examined him and gave him an intibiotic shot and suspected he might have pneumonia (in spite of not being able to detect any noises on his lungs). 

We were then instructed to keep him strictly indoor for a week. Even after that week he remained indoor and only had small 5-10 minutte outings. During this time he had another visit from the vet to give him yet another antibiotic shot and he was brought in for two different xrays. The first was too blurry and the second showed some minor signs of damage.

After about 5 weeks indoor Snowy gradually had just a little bit longer outdoor - strictly supervised. He seemed to cope and was of course delighted every day to smell the earth and play (I would have to keep seperating him from play-figthing). But one day he apparently had just had too long and some hours later (being back indoor) went into a very bad fit again. This time the vet wasn't able to come around (due to being alone in the practise) so in a state of great emergency I sent my husband off with Snowy, whilst I let the vet know they were on their way and that it was serious. I actually didn't expect Snowy would make it... it was that bad. But miraculously he made it and was put on oxygen for 24 hours. He stayed at the vet for 4 days, had intravenous shots of antibiotics every day, treatment for heartworms and another xray. This time around it showed that he had some permanent damage to the front part of his lungs meaning that he only has something like a 65% functioning lung capacity. This now means a lifetime on antibiotics and a permanent indoor life.

Snowy came back home last Monday and he is still gaining strength. This time around really did him in and his appetite is nothing like it used to be. But we keep on figthing as long as Snowy has the strength himself. The last few months have been a testing time for Snowy with 4 visits to the vet (including the longer stay), 3 xrays (under full sedation each time of course), antibitotic treatment after antibiotic treatment, 3 home check-ups by the vet, heartworm treatment, earmite treatments... this boy has been through a couple of years worth of treatments and check-ups already. And he is up for another home check-up tomorrow!

But during all this time he has been the greatest sport - even seeming to understand that he needs to stay indoor even though his little heart is running wild outdoor with his mates.

He really is the sweetest and most innocent little cat and we naturally just love him to bits. I truly wish some healing miracle would befall Snowy - he really deserves it. His attitude through all this has been stellar. 

If anyone is able to make a contribution towards Snowy's medical treatments I would be so very thankful. My vet is once again working on the basis of being paid later as I simply can't keep up with veterinary bills (all other cats included) and it is of course utterly invaluable that I can keep up this honor agreement. THANK YOU.

P.s. As usual contributions can be made via the donate button to the right on this page.

P.p.s. All the above images are taken in June whilst Snowy was at the peak of his strength.