Ask For Help...And Then When You Get A "NO" Keep Asking...

My very dear friend Grace called me to ask me if I could see a cat? I always say "yes," so it didn't really matter why she wanted to bring it in. (I have learned it is better to keep an open mind and not form an opinion until I see the patient).

Grace is the founder of Animal Rescue, Inc. in New Freedom Pa. At her rescue she helps, houses, and cares for about a hundred dogs and seven hundred cats. I speak of her often and she inspires me everyday. I don't know how she faces so many desperate animals and so many troubling scenarios and still doesn't give up?

Not too long after she arrived at the clinic with two cat carriers.

"This cat was seen by the owner walking around with a kitten hanging out of it for the last four days." Grace calmly reported.

OK, I had not heard this one before,,,, I paused my exam, looked up, and took another long internal sigh of disgust in mankind. Grace met my eyes, secretly acknowledged, and kept talking. I looked back at the kitty in front of me, and re-focused back on her.

She was a young black and white domestic short haired cat. Her belly was distended and she was not making any effort to escape the intimidating foreign hospital. Often we can tell that a pet is very ill simply because they lack the self-preservation ability to flee or hide. She just lay on the towel and looked blankly ahead. I knew that she needed immediate intervention and her story was almost irrelevant at this juncture.

I gave a very quick cursory examination;
recumbent,
weak,
pale,
shocky,
pregnant,
dehydrated,
need X-ray, need fluids, need surgery, look for fairy dust and holy water douse liberally.

This is her lying on her side.
The fetus is seen with its head to the left,
its spine running along the bottom of its moms belly,
and looking too big to fit through moms pelvis (seen at the top left).

X-ray (more correctly "radiograph") of a very very large fetus in the very very sick cat.

Now I know many of you want this to have a happy ending. I always hesitate on writing stories that lack some silver lining. But let's return to the tiny tid bit of history that we have. "Cat with kitten stuck for four days." It is probably impossible to be in labor for four days (or more) and still have any viable fetuses left. To try to save this cats life I had to remove this fetus. I was very certain it was dead already.

Immediately after the X-ray and a short discussion with Grace I took this kitty to surgery.

A very sick distended exhausted reproductive system.

Within ten minutes a very sick cat had her very sick, very tired, very incapable uterus and ovaries removed.

She is doing very very well, and she is expected to make a full and uneventful recovery.

She is one of the lucky cats who got help from Grace's rescue. She will stay with Grace until she is adopted into a home of her own.

If I ever hear of a pet needing help I will help. It is usually through the assistance of one of the rescue groups we work closely with. There are so many people who want to help and so many pets who need help.

If you have a pet in need of assistance please ask your local rescues, please keep asking until someone says "yes," and please understand that your pet is your responsibility. Be persistent, be kind, be generous, and be compassionate. Asking someone to be those things for your pet is most easily sought if you are the same.

If you would like to make a donation, volunteer, or foster or adopt a pet from Animal Rescue, or just to say "thanks" for all they do you can find them at
http://www.animalrescueinc.org/


Here are some local resources;
http://www.pawbly.com/get-help/285/

If you have any pet questions, or don't know where to go, you can find someone to help at
http://www.pawbly.com/