Happy Tails:Rescued Cat, Rescues Kitten

Bud in the sink

Bud is a Siamese Cat, with beautiful markings.  We first heard about him through friends who told us that they had to give Bud up to the shelter as they could no longer keep him.  He had spent most of his life outside looking after himself.

We at first took him in to look after him until the owners found him a home.  He was scared, anti-social and not in the best of shape.  He had broken teeth, filthy ears, was infested with fleas and vomited constantly.

We gave him a flea treatment, made sure we had food and water constantly available so he knew he didn’t have to go in search of food and left him to his own devices.  At night we kept him indoors, and he spent most of his time hiding in his tower away from my husband and I.  If we went near him or tried to touch him, he shied away in fear and began to shake.

I called the old owners and told them that we would keep him forever.  We patiently waited for Bud to make a move towards us.  It took a month but he eventually did.  Slowly he began to trust us, and we loved having him around.

He still spent most of his time outside … until one evening, he was chased by a dog, and hit by a car and we almost lost him.  He lost the use of his back legs, had cuts all over and was bleeding from his ears and mouth.  Beyond all expectations he pulled through and lived.

Our home now had ramps everywhere to allow Bud to get up on the couches, get onto his tower, get onto the bed, etc.  I did months of  Kitty Physio with him, and it eventually paid off. Slowly but surely he recovered mobility in his hind quarters and was able to walk, then run, then eventually jump short distances until he was back to his full range of motion.

Just when I thought things were going well, I came home to find Bud screaming in pain . A vet exam told us that he had an abcess in his mouth from the new damage the accident had done to his teeth.  New Years Day was spent worried out of our minds as Bud had emergency dental and mouth surgery. The vet removed 9 teeth, drained and flushed the abscess, and did a root canal.

As he recovered he became a very different cat.  He became loving, demanded attention and spent less time outside.  He continued to vomit, so we had him tested and an ultrasound discovered chronic pancreatitis, brought on by a poor diet in his developing years.

Soon my neighbour began asking me if I had taken in another cat, as a cat who looked a lot like Bud had been seen carrying food out to a little fluffy kitten who seemed homeless.  I laughed, said “nope, wouldn’t happen, not with our Bud.”  Boy was I wrong!

Roxy being adorable

Bud came home one Saturday morning, with a fluffy kitten in tow.  Without even knowing what sex the kitten was, I named her Roxy.  She was in pretty rough shape, her fur was  matted and she was dirty.  I put food outside for her to eat. I couldn’t get near the kitten, she was way too skittish.

One day, I opened the door as Roxy was coming under the fence … she bolted.  As I stood there with the door still ajar, Bud made some odd noises and Roxy stopped in her tracks and looked back at me.  She turned and watched as I put the food bowl down, but for the first time she didn’t run.

That evening I told my husband what had happened, he looked at me like I was insane.  I asked him if we could take the kitten in, and he said no, Bud is too territorial, he would hurt the kitten. I continued to put out food for the little one.

The next morning, my husband found out how wrong he was.  Bud was curled up on the mat by the patio door.  His favourite toy,  was propped up against the glass, and on the other side of the door was the kitten, curled up, lying in the mirror position of Bud.  “Now can we take her in?”  my husband said we should have her health checked first, and I called the vet and made an appointment.

Now I had to catch her to get her to the vet.  As I opened the door to go out, Bud “spoke” again to Roxy, instead of running, she stood there, and allowed me to pick her up and put her in the carrier.  Neither my husband nor I could believe it … but were greatly relieved.

Roxy was suffering from severe malnutrition and had a few other ailments.  If we hadn’t taken her in, she would have died within the week.  She spent almost a week at the vets office getting her strength back.  Bud had brought Roxy to us for help, because we had helped him, he knew we would help her too.

Roxy had never lived in a home before.  Bud taught her everything she needed to know about living with people.  Taught her not to bite, how to use the litter box, and where to find food and water, and of course taught her that I am a pushover with the treats. 

Bud and Roxy sleeping together Oct 16th, 2010

Four years later, they chase each other through the house, eat together and sleep together at night.  They are very loving and very spoiled.  Taking them in was the best thing we have ever done.

I highly recommend taking in a pet who need rescuing.  My life will never be the same again, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Thank You to Diane Harrison for providing us with today’s wonderful “Happy Tail” You have some very lucky cats there! Bless you for opting to adopt! Congratulations to you for BEING THE CHANGE!

Want to see your rescued pets story in our next “Happy Tails” blog? Write it in five hundred words or less and send it (with pictures please) to:

janettehamilton@bell.net

Have a happy day with your pets!

Janette