Tuesday, January 5, 2010

One Minute

He had been picked up skinny, matted and dirty. Everytime he went to the bathroom, it got stuck in his fur and the staff cleaned him up. He been there a little while and wasn't getting any better.

I had to stop by the facility to drop something off, so I called ahead to make sure someone would be there. No problem, they were just collecting a cat for a euthanasia appointment, but someone would be there for a few more minutes.

"Which cat?"
He was already in a crate in the back of a running vehicle when I arrived. It took me one minute to decide that this cat was coming with me, sign the paperwork and have him in my car.

It took us 15 minutes to run his FIV/FeLV/FHW test and let him eat.

It took 3 minutes to bath him and clean off his back end. His skin was red and raw so we covered the wounds with ointment.

It took about 3 seconds to realize he was going to kill me for bathing him.

It took less than 3 seconds for him to forgive me and decide towels were good.

It took one vet visit to determine that his leg had been broken and gone untreated. It took a few minutes for our vet to fully examine him and it took me just a moment to hand her my notes. I mentioned how more than food, he liked his probiotics. She went and got him a tube so he could snack while we talked. She told me she thought that he had literally given up and stopped eating and grooming. He was horribly underweight and the previous build-up of feces in his coat had actually started to burn his skin. The baths and ointment had already started to help, his appetite had started to come back and he was purring while he ate his snack. The vet petted him and told him how wonderful he is. He had given up, past tense, now she expects to see him back in one month.

Now he eats a whole can of cat food everyday. He is great about his antibiotics and he loves his dietary supplements and probiotics. He is slowly putting on weight and exploring his new environment. He is patient and affectionate and will make a wonderful pet for a lucky family.

You'll all see him on our website when he is ready for adoption. His name is Minute.

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