11.17.2012

A place to call home!!!!

Here are Grant and I with Lucky earlier today. We finally got to bring him home!!!!



But not before a little bit of ridicule first. Due to his surgery, he was shaved...


And we did what any good parents would do...and made fun of him about his new "do."

After 3 different vet hospitals and at least 2 follow up appointments coming up, so far our $5,000 is pretty right on the money!!!!

To introduce Lucky in to the family, we're keeping him crated (per the vet's orders) and he has his own room away from Ella and Goose for the next few weeks. He has hissed at me twice so far, but he is all talk! As soon as I reach in, he lets me pet him down his back and on his face without a fuss. We were even able to give him his meds with no problems! I think he's going to be really happy here.


His incisions are very small. This is a picture of his largest incision. The stitches will dissolve on their own in a week or so.


And here he is trying to hide. He's allowed to walk around for about an hour every day to get his muscles back up to par.


He's happy and sleeping now!!!

11.13.2012

Post surgery

I got to visit Lucky today and Grant got to meet him for the first time. Poor guy looked so miserable. When I talked to the vet tech earlier today, she had told me that if we were to put a hand in to his crate that she couldn't guarantee we would pull our hand out with all our fingers still attached.

When they brought him out, he was pretty docile, but they told us to watch our hands because he might try to bite us. Here he is during our visit.











We left with all our fingers and he didn't even attempt to fight with us. And there were 4 of us all up in his face and he took it like a champ!!!

And as a friend said, soon we will have a band of pirate cats sailing the living room seas, pillaging Ella.

11.12.2012

Update on Lucky

We are still waiting to hear back from the orthopedic surgeon for the estimate on Lucky's pelvis reattachment.

Today Lucky started his first round of surgeries. His eye was removed and so were his family jewels. An X-ray was taken of his jaw and the doctor said they didn't see any fractures. Lucky isn't eating on his own yet, so they have been syringe feeding him and keeping him on appetite stimulants. I haven't been able to go see him yet, but as soon as he is cleared for visitors I will be there and will get a couple photo updates.

Overall the vet staff have said that he is wonderful. And they ran the FeLV and FIV tests and he came back negative on both!!!! That is super good news because that means Lucky will be coming home and living with Grant and I once he's done with his surgeries!

So far we've raised about $1,600 towards Lucky's surgeries. The initial bill was $850 and through today with the surgeries will be $1,200. Once we hear from the orthopedic surgeon we should have a final estimate of what everything will cost.

11.09.2012

The vet named him Lucky

Last night on my way home from work (1:30 in the morning) I saw something in the middle of the road. As I got closer, it was obviously a cat that'd been hit by a car. Like most cats that've been hit by cars, I just assumed he had died from his injuries. As I was passing the cat, I realized he was sitting up and was alive.
I immediately pulled over, waited for traffic to pass while holding my breath and hoping no one hit him while I was watching. As soon as traffic cleared, I pulled in to the middle of the road, put on my emergency flashers and walked over to the cat. As I knelt down and let him smell me, I saw that his left eye was bloody and was popped out of the socket. As I reached out to pet him, he didn't even flinch. I pet him and made sure he trusted me, then lifted him in to the car. At the time the only immediate injuries I could see were the eye and possibly his jaw.
I placed him in the passenger seat and he immediately crawled on to the floor. As I frantically searched for the nearest 24hr Vet, he seemed calm. He wasn't wailing or making any abnormal sounds. I located the nearest vet and raced over.
When I got to the vet they rushed him to the back (after he took a lap around the building trying to get away) and asked for his information. I didn't have any, but when I got the initial paperwork, they listed his name as Lucky.
The vet isn't sure if Lucky is feral, as he is still intact. He kept trying to get away from the doctor at the vet and she couldn't be sure that Lucky wouldn't try to bite her. However, aside from the car injuries, he was friendly with me, didn't seem like a scrappy cat, was fat, and was only as dirty as an outdoor cat. He didn't seem like he was getting in to fights out in the streets.
As it turns out, Lucky's eye will need to be removed. This is unfortunately the least expensive of the surgeries that are going to be needed. From his injuries, it's likely that Lucky's back end was run over by a car. His pelvis is fractured and is separated from his sacrum, which will need surgery. If he doesn't have this surgery, he will most likely have problems having bowel movements.
I was given an estimate of $4,000-$5,000 for the surgeries and they said they'd throw in the neutering for free. I don't exactly have that kind of money lying around and never thought I'd be paying that much on a cat. Especially one that I'd never met before. But I couldn't bear to leave him in the street waiting to die.
So, to help offset some of the vet bills, I will be selling hand knit hats, fingerless mittens, scarves, etc. I make a mean hat and I use quality, boutique yarn. If made from the boutique yarn, hats will be $40 and fingerless mittens will be $15. Anything made from the cheaper yarn would cost less. All money earned will go directly to pay for vet bills. In the event more money is received than needed to cover the vet bills, it will go to FieldHaven Feline Rescue in Lincoln, CA.
I didn't have time to get a picture of Lucky, but hopefully will soon! He's got a sweet face, bloody eye and all!
Donations would also be greatly appreciated.