She’s doing very, very well – our little clutzy kitten. Strawberry is eating real food on her own now and playing as though she never was at death’s door. Her future looks bright, as long as we can keep saving her from herself. I found her on top of our shower door frame yesterday.
I love my pond, even if requires a lot of work at times. This is what it looked like this summer:
This is what my pond looks like today:
I still think it’s pretty.
Strawberry and Gizmo playing with a feather 10/28/09
Strawberry’s feeding tube was removed yesterday. We’ve been giving her liquid nourishment through the tube that was surgically placed in her throat to allow her jaw time to heal. We had thought she would need it for at least two weeks, but she’s been trying to eat on her own the last couple days and always winced and shook her head when she tried to swallow. She’d give up and pout, then try again a couple hours later, with the same result. She’s also been scratching at the tube a lot, it’s obviously been bothering her, so we’ve been wondering if it could be more of a hindrance than a help at this point. Our vet agreed, and decided to take it out. Strawberry still is not quite ready to completely eat on her own, although she keeps trying, but now I can squirt food into her mouth with a syringe, instead of through the throat tube. This is a happier situation for everyone involved, and it’s exciting progress.
She’s doing amazingly well, for a cat that just over a week ago was unable to do anything but lay in her hospital cage with a swollen face, nose constantly oozing, agitated whenever her pain medicine began to wear off. She looked awful, we weren’t sure if she would need her jaw surgically wired together, and we didn’t know what kind of lasting damage she may have. We were told by one of our vets, “Most people in this situation would let her go, and that’s something you should consider.” We knew we may eventually have to make that decision, but somehow euthanasia did not feel right for her then. Another vet thought she had “about an 80% chance” of recovering. We saw her perk up when she saw us, her eyes brightening more each day, so we kept going.
She has proven to everyone, even the vet who thought we were crazy for pressing on, that she’s a tough little girl with no intention of leaving us yet. She’s exploring the house again (under close supervision!), comes to me when I call her, and give me purrs and head-butts. She’s cuddling on my lap right now as I type this.
Thank you, again, to everyone who has donated toward her vet bills. The ER vet let us pay their bill in two chunks. The second half is due this week, and we’re struggling to cover it. Every little bit helps, and your generosity is extremely appreciated. I’m going to be working on adding affiliate products to this site, as well as vintage clothing and art that you can buy directly from me to help us raise funds for the vet bills.
Enjoy your day!
I “met” Kimberly Kotar several months ago on Facebook as I was looking to network with other people dealing with my daughter’s medical condition, transverse myelitis, which Kim also has. It turned out, Kim is also a kick-a$$ animal rescuer and shelter volunteer in Montreal. I am incredibly inspired to know someone who isn’t letting her own health issue get in the way of working (very hard) for causes she believes in. I’m proud to be able to call her a friend!
Our little broken kitten passed her vet check-up today with flying colors. The vet was impressed at how bright-eyed and active she was, and how well she is able to open her mouth. She’s not ready to eat food on her own yet, so we’ll be doing the feeding tube thing for a while still, but it’s looking promising that she probably won’t need surgery (knock on wood). The ER vet apparently did a pretty good job manually adjusting her dislocated jaw. She just needs more time to keep healing. Yay, Strawberry! As the vet said, “Way to bounce back, girl!”
So now we just have to figure out how to cover the $1,700 emergency vet bill from last weekend. Ouch. And then we’ll get back to fundraising for the $2,000 hip surgery that Aiden still needs. Ouch, ouch, ouch…
Strawberry purred today when I held her and scratched her cheek and ear. The first purr since her accident almost a week ago. She’s not ready to eat on her own yet, so my son and I are still feeding her through the tube. But she looks and acts more like herself everyday. Yay!
(One of Valerie Fausone’s rescued puppies. http://bluesgirly.livejournal.com)
I recently watched an informative, although very disturbing, documentary called Off The Chain that shows dog fighting behind the scenes. It also explains the history of pit bulls, how they were the number one family dog 100 years ago, but now are feared and banned in many cities. So many misunderstandings.
I also learned that for every one rescued pit bull who finds a home, 600 are killed. I gave our Lilah an extra big hug after I heard that.
A wonderful blog that I follow, by humor writer Valerie Fausome who rescues pit bulls in California, pointed out this recent article about the history of pitbulls on Martha Stewart’s blog.
(Photo of Helen Keller and her pit bull. Pitbullsontheweb.com)
Maybe there’s a bit of hope that attitudes can change toward this intelligent and affectionate misunderstood breed. Celebrities like Demi Moore and Sia have been telling their Twitter followers to help these dogs because they are so likely to be put down. And many more celebs, like Jessica Biel, have adopted rescued pit bulls.
If you’d like to learn more, watch Off The Chain. You can buy it from Amazon or rent it from Netflix.
(Strawberry recovering at home.)
Strawberry’s condition was touch-and-go throughout the weekend. Swelling around all her facial fractures restricted her airway, making breathing very difficult, and she was put in an oxygen cage several times. She also had a feeding tube inserted to provide nourishment while she is unable to eat due to her dislocated jaw. The ER vet manipulated her lower jaw as much as he was able to manually while she was anesthetized for the feeding tube. Time will tell if she will need surgery, as well.
This morning I had to transfer Strawberry from the ER veterinary hospital to our regular vet. When I picked her up at the ER vet, she was very groggy, with eyes half closed. She had a feeding tube attached to her neck and an IV catheter protruding from her arm. Whenever she was upset (whenever someone moved her or tried to do anything near her face) her breathing became gaspy and wheezy. When she was relaxed, she steadied. While still clearly having a long road ahead, she had actually improved so much since Friday, I was relieved and hopeful.
Our regular vet was dubious when she initially saw Strawberry and read the ER notes. But by the end of the day, the kitten had perked up enough to show real interest in her surroundings and was physically fighting back when examined. The vet said Strawberry’s fiestiness is a promising sign.
The little kitty came home tonight, with a long detailed list of instructions and feeding gear. We set her up in our bedroom and are keeping all other cats and dogs out. We managed to successfully give her dinner and medication. Tomorrow morning we’ll go check in with the vet to see how well she did – and how well we did….
Strawberry - resting between injuries
I spent this evening at an emergency veterinary hospital, after our seven-month-old accident-prone rescued kitten, Strawberry, broke her face. (Read more about Strawberry’s history on LiveJournal or on Strawberry’s own page.)
My biggest fear for Strawberry has been that her vision and balance problems could cause her to injure herself. Although she fell off shelves and dressers often, she never seemed discouraged. She just kept on exploring, jumping, and playing…and falling. I’ve tried to figure out how to keep her from injuring herself, but locking her inside a padded room seemed unfair. Now I wish I had.
A “thud” caught my attention tonight, and I was alarmed to find poor Strawberry flailing on the living room floor next to the TV. She had slipped off a high ledge, her favorite perch lately, and apparently slammed her face against the edge of the TV stand on her way down. Her head cocked to one side, she was coughing up blood and gagging, making the most horrible noises I’ve ever heard. I wrapped her in a blanket and rushed her to the emergency vet (as is typical of emergencies, this happened after-hours, on a Friday evening).
At that point, I thought she would not survive, but wanted to ensure that her suffering would end as soon as possible, and humanely. She barely moved when I gently settled her inside the cat carrier. She curled up inside her blanket and continued to gurgle and wheeze. While I drove across town, I internally yelled at myself for not doing more to keep her away from high places. I was wracked with guilt, praying for a miracle. When I reached the emergency veterinary office, Strawberry had managed to sit up and was looking around her. Her little face was swollen, blood ran from her nose, and she was still wheezing, but I had a bit of hope. I had called the vet office ahead to let them know we were coming, so a tech met me at the door and whisked the kitten into the back room.
Strawberry will be staying in the hospital this weekend, but she is still alive and prognosis looks better right now. She was given pain medicine, sedated, and x-rayed. She fractured bones throughout her face and jaw. My heart aches for her. And also for us, now that we’re facing yet another ginormous vet bill.
I had to make a decision when I was asked how much I wanted them to do to save her. I said that if her injuries are fixable, we’ll find a way to come up with the money. When I talked to my partner, Kari, she was even more insistent that we treat this injury as if she were a person, not “just an animal.” (So at least I’m not the only crazy person in this family.)
We have made torturous end-of-life decisions with sick pets before, and there is a point when you know that to press on is futile and/or cruel. But Strawberry does not have a terminal illness. Her body is not shutting down, bones can mend, and she’s a fighter. I don’t know how to set a price limit on her life when she is trying so hard to live.
(Donation button because people have asked. Thank you SO much.)
When I question the way I live, surrounded by rescued pets, or when other people blatantly tell me that I shouldn’t spend so much time, energy, and money on these animals….I read Beth Hommel’s blog and am reminded that there are other people in the world who understand “this thing that I do,” as she puts it. (And, like Beth, I am also fortunate to have a Significant Other who is understanding and supportive.)
Beth is already plenty busy with her normal life as an artist and photographer and Personal Assistant to “cabaret punk” singer Amanda Palmer. But hectic as her life already is, she still grabs wet, hissing, feral kittens off the street, fixes them up, and finds their forever-homes.
Read Beth Hommel’s blog mostly about rescuing cats
It was also Beth’s blog that introduced me to the story of The Star Thrower. “We save the ones we can.”
For these reasons…Beth has the distinction (dubious as it may be) of being my blog’s first Hero!
