Lessons Learned from a Stray Cat

He was long haired, matted and kind of brown in color when I first noticed the stray cat hanging out in our yard. We feed our cats twice a day on the deck behind the house and he would always be there at mealtimes, hanging back out of reach. At first I thought he was just a neighbor's cat hoping for a handout, but then I began to realize that he was always in the yard, day and night.

I started talking to the stray, trying to coax him close enough to look for a collar and assess his overall condition. He was too wary to let me near. I tried to lure him with food, but he was too nervous. I tried leaving food for him, but our cats came immediately and ate it all.

After a few weeks of this, the stray was looking more bedraggled and weaker. It looked like something was wrong with one of his eyes. I became more and more concerned that he was indeed a stray, and not a neighbor's cat.

Then one day the stray cat was waiting on the deck at mealtime, as usual. But this time he was laying down and didn't even lift his head when I started to approach. At the last second he rose and bolted.

We made the decision that we had to do something to help him or he would die in our yard. We rented a live trap and baited it with stinky food sure to catch the attention of a hungry stray cat. We caught him the first night. Up close he looked even worse than we thought. He had huge scabs behind both ears and one eye was swollen almost shut. His whole back was tights mats of fur that must have been pulling cruelly. We took him to a local emergency clinic for help.

We were told this stray cat:

-had a severe case of ear mites
-had a blocked urinary tract
-was unneutered
-had no microchip
-had fleas

When I commented on how well he was tolerating the vet handling him, the reply was "he's only letting me handle him because he's so sick."

They said either put him down or schedule immediate surgery for the blocked urinary tract. Apparently that type of problem is not only very painful, but if untreated can kill the cat quickly. Surgery was estimated to be $500-$700.

We went home to talk it over and while there, the stray cat urinated several times in the box we provided for him. No longer blocked, problem solved.

We took the cat back to the emergency clinic the next day where they confirmed he was no longer blocked and said it was highly unusual for that type of condition to reverse on its own. We asked them to test him for FIV and Feline Leukemia and were told he had FIV.

Back home again we did research and discussed what to do next with this poor stray cat. We decided to go ahead and get him treated and cleaned up and give him the best life we could.

Back to the emergency clinic for a third time. This time we were told "put him down." I asked why. "He's sick." was the curt reply. I was astonished. Everything he had was treatable except the FIV and my research had revealed that FIV positive cats very often go on to lead normal lives for many years. They may eventually get sick because of it, but it's often 10 or 15 years down the road and they are healthy and happy in the meantime. Here we were ready and willing to care for him and pay his medical bills and the vet had no interest in helping him? I have no words for how outraged I was. We picked up our stray cat and left that clinic, vowing never to return there and made an appointment with our regular vet.

We told our stray cat's story to our regular vet. She asked if the previous vet had advised us that a cat who has been vaccinated for FIV will test postive for it when the in-house test is used. No, he had not told us this. I was outraged again. We then paid to have the more accurate send-out test done and it turned out that this stray cat actually is FIV positive. Our vet confirmed that FIV-positive cats do often live long healthy lives before the disease takes its toll. She warned us that down the road he very likely would get sick, very sick, and at that time we would need to consider the possibility ... well, you know. She also confirmed that he was not neutered, was not microchipped and had severe ear mites. He did not, however, have fleas.

To make a long story shorter, the bottom line is that this stray cat made a wonderful recovery. He was good natured from the very beginning, only nervous at first. He had to be shaved to remove the horrendous mats and he also was bathed, vaccinated, and neutered. Once this stray was clean and his fur grew back, he turned out to be an amazingly gorgeous blue point Himalayan. Who knew how fluffy and soft his fur would be? His behavior made it likely he'd been a housecat before he was a stray and he is incredibly loving and sweet natured. He has found a home with a human who he dotes on and he seems perfectly content with the fact that he is a strictly-indoor cat due to his FIV condition. This former stray cat will play with an offered toy at any time and he has beautiful litter box manners. He's learned to tolerate being cuddled on his back and he responds to a lap with a resonating purr and biscuit-making.

I've realized this amazing boy with the puffy pants taught us some important lessons. Namely,

-don't give up
-hang around positive people
-help can come from unexpected places
-do your part
-quality of life is as important as quantity
-the power of a good spirit

I've met some inspirational people in my lifetime and one of them just happens to have four paws.