Last Man Standing

There's been quite a bit of shake up in the Shoup cat house and Mr. Morris is not happy - not at all. First, his sister Shadoe (now Artemis) was adopted out as a barn cat. She was a good mom to all the kittens she had as well as any strays that I brought in, but she so very clearly wasn't happy living in a home. If I looked into the basement through the outside, I could see her staring out the window. When I went down to the basement each night, she would hiss and hide. She got to the point she would meow at me when I put wet food down, but she made it clear we would never be friends. In addition, the kittens got less and less socialized as they would hide with her. The family that adopted her to be their barn cat is a very loving family and she will have another kitty companion with which to interact. It was kind of bittersweet to split she and Morris up, but he just couldn't go with her and she just couldn't stay.

A week or so later, an opportunity presented itself that allowed me to swap two of my healthy kittens for two kittens who needed some light medical care. I went back and forth on which pairings I should give up and ultimately chose the two kittens Morris played with the most. While they were great companions for Morris, his son, Sparrow, was the one most afraid of humans. While the other kittens interacted with me, Sparrow would always sit off to the side. I sent Channing, Sparrow's favorite companion as well, and Channing and Morris were always seen playfully romping about. Scout and Banjo have made the transition to the cat population seamlessly, but where Morris was once in the middle of the action, now he sits aparat, aloof.

That's not to say things are all bad for Morris. He has his boon companion, Neko, still and has worked on worming his way into Truvy's heart. I have witnessed Truvy and Morris cleaning each other on several occasions, so it's almost as though Morris is building his harem! ;-) I doubt I will see the day when he wins Satie's heart, but with Morris, I've witnessed many other miracles, so I won't rule it out entirely - yet. ;-)

I'm sorry that it's been so long since there's been an update on Morris. Things have been insane in general at the Shoup house and there really hasn't been much progress on Morris' part. He definitely doesn't take well to change, so he may just be a forever cat. Only time will tell. I promise to try to update more, even if it's just profiles from the ladies of Morris' harem.

Silly boy

As I sit here and type this post, Morris is playing the charming companion to several kittens who have chosen him as their play toy du jour. He's at least four times their size, but so gentle and so tolerant. One kitten in particular keeps coming back for more and Morris seems to enjoy it.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not sure what the future holds for Morris. If someone is looking for a companion for their cat, Morris is their man. In an environment where he has no other cats to keep him company and he may come out of his shell even more. His kittens continue to do really well. They are very social, very active and simply adorable. I am sure they will get adopted in no time. Morris will stay with me until he gets a home or we decide to keep him.

He really is lucky little Morris. Just yesterday, someone brought a beautiful Persian kitty without a home to my attention. She's social, super friendly and was probably left behind by someone who moved and didn't want to take her with them. I sometimes wonder why fate or the universe or what have you put Morris in my path, knowing I would do whatever I needed in order to help him. How was he the lucky one while others, more friendly, more loving don't get the same opportunities? While I wait for that plan to unfold, I'll continue to advocate for homeless animals at the same time providing loving care and support for those I have the pleasure of meeting. Morris has already been an inspiration to so many people and I hope his legacy will continue to inspire, even as his physical recovery is complete.

Motivated Morris

Morris continues to do really really well, physically. We're still working on the human socialization. He continues to bond very strongly with my nurturing cat, Neko. I'll try to get a picture next time they are on the cat tree together. He is VERY vocal when it comes to wet food. He's got a tiny little meow that is VERY insistent. He's also very food motivated. I am dealing with some eating issues with other cats that requires some flexibility on my part. They get super nutritious, extra calorie kitten food that nobody else does, therefore it makes it manna from heaven for Morris. Check out him flexing his legs. He wouldn't have done this two months ago.

Snuggling

A couple of weeks ago, I took Morris in for his surgical follow up. The surgeon was very pleased with his progress, both physically and socially. I was able to reach in and bring Morris out for his exam. There was no swiping, no hissing and no trying to get away from us. There are many domesticated cats that don't do that well, so Morris has made significant progress.


In terms of global progress, it's obvious to see just how far Morris has come. I can't thank those responsible enough for their contributions to Morris, their interest in Morris and their belief in a kitty whose story tugged their hearts.

Mobility: Previously, Morris ran wherever he needed to go. I think his idea was to get to where he needed to go fast to minimize the amount of pain. Upon arriving at his location, he would sit down very quickly. I'm not sure how, but it seemed that sitting caused him very little pain. Now, Morris strolls everywhere, unless I'm putting food down. ;-) He's still got a "swagger" and always will have a swagger, but he's more comfortable when walking and it's obvious.


Sociability: Morris has always sought the comfort of other cats, but never really played with them. He would try to engage his brother, but if Garfield wasn't interested, Morris wouldn't pursue it. Now, Morris plays all by himself and with the newest kitten to the fold, Olivia. He's really quite sweet with her. He also loves to play with Neko, our firmly established matriarch. Many nights you will find them snuggling together, mostly at his insistence.


Human Interaction: Previously, Morris would come thisclose and then run away. Any new stimuli would send him running for the hills. Now, he's rubbing his head on my hand and when new people enter his domain, he shows curiousity after the initial furor has died down. He still gets a little hissy when startled, but stays his ground and works through it. He even snuggled with ME recently, though as soon as he realized what he was doing, he vacated his warm spot, but not before I got photographic evidence!

HA! I can't tell you how much this made my day and hopefully it will make yours!

Spay and Neuter, people!

So, in a previous post, I mentioned that I get antsy when I have unaltered animals, especially when they are of the opposite sex. Generally speaking, I am quick to get the animals to the vet, especially cats. Here's why: An unspayed femal cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing two litters per year, with 2.8 surviving kittens per litter can total: One Year: 12 Two Years: 67 Three Years: 376 Four Years: 2,107 Five Years: 11, 801 ... Nine Years: 11,606,077 Considering millions of animals are euthanized for lack of homes every year, these are grim statistics indeed. That's just based upon one mate match. Early Sunday morning, we discovered that, as my friend Sarah puts it, Morris was not too crippled to get his sister pregnant. She got pregnant during what presumably was her first heat cycle. Their "union" produced three kittens. (None of them look like Morris at all, so who even KNOWS if he was the dad). Morris' sister, I've mentioned before, is feral, so checking in on the babies has been challenging to say the least, but at this point, all appear healthy and momma is a good momma. Rest assured that this is not an event that will occur again. If I have to use a blow dart to catch Shadoe, she will be spayed once the kittens have been weaned. But this is an important lesson on why you should spay and neuter as soon as possible. Quick as a wink, without having any prior heads up, you could wind up with three kittens under a sofa in your basement. Just sayin'.

Disposable

It's true that this blog is supposed to focus on Morris and his recovery. But it's also a way to talk about some of the things that go on in rescue land. Don't worry, I won't bombard you with graphic horror stories. Today's post is more to talk about a shift in the way some people view their "pets". I recently had someone return a former foster cat because after two and a half years, she developed allergies to the cat. In speaking with the woman, she revealed that in the time she had the cat, she hadn't taken her to vet at all in the time she had the cat. The kitty had been moved several times, was eliminating inappropriately outside the litterbox and was shy. Additionally, the cat had not been spayed and oh by the way, she was moving to NY soon and how soon can we take the kitty? But, oh, she was going to be so heartbroken to give up her kitty. The woman's tone throughout the whole thing was so nonchalant, it was clear that the cat had become disposable. I can't refute the litterbox claim as the cat hasn't moved from underneath my bed since I brought her home. The rescue has such a thorough screening process, that it's disappointing to have someone like this pass with flying colors. The kitten I turned over was a vibrant, loving, sweet kitten who could have been the perfect pet for a family who would love her forever. Instead, she went to a woman who gave her the bare minimum to survive for two years. There are so many heartbreaking stories like this one. The dog who is being returned because he has gotten too big. The cats who were dumped at a shelter, despite the rescue clause stating they MUST come back to the rescue because it was too much hassle. The dog who was dumped at the shelter because her family couldn't wait another day to turn her over to the rescue. How about the 12 year old dog who was dumped because the kids are grown and the parents don't have time for it any more? The list goes on and on and on. We don't get to hear the stories of the family who adopted a geriatric dog, accepting all of his faults and rejoicing when he gives them almost two full years and they were only expecting six months. We don't hear the stories of the families who suffer through chemotherapy with their dogs to only get another two months with their beloved pet. When animals are treated as though they are disposable, it's an insult to those who work tirelessly to make these wonderful animals available to a loving home, devoting many hours and sacrificing family time to ensure they are placed in a safe and loving home. I hope that if you're reading this, you realize that your pet is not disposable. They aren't a razor to be thrown in the trash, or a shirt to be donated because you've grown tired of it. This is a living thing whose life and happiness depend on you, more so than a child does. Children grow up and move away. Your animal will give its life to you, unconditionally. Think about this, urge your friends, your coworkers, your family members to think about that before they bring a pet into the home. It shouldn't be treated as anything less than a lifetime commitment.

How many lives are left??

As a foster parent to animals, I feel like I expend nine lives in a year. Fosters like Morris (and others that weren't so lucky) remind me that I have been blessed with general good health with my fosters. Each new curveball is tackled as a learning opportunity. I'm sure you're thinking, yes yes yes, what about Morris? How's he doing NOW?? I'm getting to that part.

Morris was continuing to make great improvements in healing. The scar on one side had healed completely to the point that you thought it was a mere scratch. The other side, the side that got the most action because it had the most muscle, had a slight scab, but was healing well as well. On Wednesday night, I noticed he was starting to get some fluid build up on his right side. It stayed about the same size through Friday morning. When I took him in for therapy on Friday morning, I discussed the fluid build up with Dr. Chau of Family Vet of Stone Ridge. She explained that since that side had the least amount of muscle, it was the most prone to fluid build up. Made complete sense. She mentioned she might drain the fluid, but wasn't really sure. I didn't think about it again and hubby picked up Morris so I didn't get a chance to ask. Morris was very mobile on Saturday night and even attempted to make friends with another foster, Fatima. She was not interested, in the slightest, but I was encouraged by his exploration.

Fast forward to Sunday. My friend Sarah came over to see the "wunder kitty" as I call him. He did great, he looked great and he didn't even hiss at her (I think he's just reserving that for me now). We noticed the swelling was still there, but again, didn't think anything of it.

Sunday evening and I noticed an alarming puncture like wound located south of his incision. I will spare you the awful details, but his therapy for today was cancelled and he was dropped off at the vet first thing this morning. I am almost certain I'm going to screw this up, but the theory is that there was a blood pocket that pooled under his skin since he has so much "dead space." That area was especially week so all he would have to do is sit on it hard or lie down on it funny and the pressure would be released, which is precisely what happened. To fix it, the doctors sewed him up and put in a drain since there was fluid still draining from the wound. He's on crate rest for 7-10 days and therapy has been put on hold until the drain can be removed. Poor little guy. He's had a surgery every two weeks since his neuter was scheduled. He's a tough little kitty, though, as evidenced by how far he came WITHOUT the benefit of surgery. I hate that he has to be isolated though and look forward to when he can join everybody else.

Look! You can see where his hair had started to grow back in!

If you're interested, Morris is accepting visitors. I can't promise he'll want to snuggle on your lap, but it's not often you get to look at a bionic kitty. :-)

Progress!

Yesterday was Morris' second therapy appointment. I picked him up before picking up Kaitlyn. Don't worry, I didn't subject him to a school full of happy children. He gets enough stimulation at the homestead. As soon as I got in the car, I smelled something burning. I was very concerned that it was the car and we would need to schedule a service appointment too. Further examination (I refuse to say further sniffing) included a faint aroma of singed fur. I started cackling out loud, much to Morris' dismay. I had a burned kitty in my car! He's fine, it's all part of the laser beam, but I still thought it was amusing.

Morris has full run of the basement now. For the most part, he chooses to sleep on the pillow I put back in his crate. He has let me approach him without running away several times, though I do get the obligatory hiss. Last night, I was able to get near him and pet him lots, no hiss and no instant running away! For anyone who has dealt with a feral, semi-feral or distrustful cat, this is HUGE!!!! He's also starting to seek affection from my resident queen, Neko, which she happily provides. She's the cat that smooths everything over, so to have her on board and have him seek her out is very very helpful. Neko, affectionately known as "Meatball" (thank you O'Neil - Lemke family), was a semi-feral kitty herself who now loves being in your lap and letting you know how much she loves you. She has helped me tame many a cat, so I'm hopeful that she will be a guiding force for Morris in this transition.

So exciting!! Hopefully, I'll have new pictures and video soon!

Well, look whose walking!

Morris had his first therapy session today. I was crunched for time and almost literally threw his crate on the counter, shouted ".15 of buprenex" and ran out the door. Later, I called to make sure they had all the stats on Morris and apologized for my haste. I will say as soon as I set his crate on the counter, Morris came to the front of the crate to greet the receptionist. What the?!?! Clearly, Morris has forgotten which side his bread is buttered on. I picked up the pieces of my tattered pride and reveled in the fact that he felt comfortable enough to be curious.

By the vet's account, Morris did very well. He was even better behaved than the personal kitty someone dropped off. BONUS! The vet was very impressed with his mobility and took video of everything she did. As soon as I get that link, I'll post it.

I came home tonight and gave Morris his freedom, after his pain medication dosage. Morris was very excited! He explored the entire basement and reaquaint himself with the rest of the kitties. His mobility is incredible. 10 days post op and he's walking WAY better than he did before the surgery. He is standing, which he wasn't doing before, and walking instead of running everywhere. Really, the difference is indescribable. For him to get as far as he did in as much pain as he was experiencing, the difference is just breathtaking. PLUS! He doesn't run when I approach to pet him and actually allows me to pet him. I think we've turned a corner. Until the next time I have to give him meds, anyway. ;-)

I'll shoot you with a laser beam!

When last I wrote, I was taking Morris to the vet to get one of his incisions examined. One side was quiet and healing very well while the other side looked angry and I wanted to stay on top of any potential infection. Let me preface my vet visit story by stating that I spend at least a quarter of every year corresponding with vet offices. Two vet offices in particular (Family Vet of Stone Ridge and Stream Valley Veterinary Hospital) know the sound of my voice. Two. If you spin it positively, it means that I make sure that all of my animals (foster or not) get quality care. If you spin it negatively, one would have to foster a lot of freaking animals to get to the point that vet offices know the sound of your voice. I'm not even going to address that. Nor will I mention the kennel who if you mention my name can rattle off my dogs or the fact that all of the staff at a veterinary super store ask about my fosters BY NAME. While it certainly attests to the level of care and service I get that I am a repeat customer, I don't know anybody that well for human needs. Except maybe my hairdresser. And I've been seeing her for nine years, so that doesn't really count.

So, the vet agreed to stay open a little longer just so they could make sure Morris didn't need sutures. When I called, I mentioned that one side looked "angry" and I just wanted to make sure he hadn't broken his sutures. What that got translated as to the vet, I'm not sure, but she was expecting to have to resuture. This was going to require some extensive work as Morris only has internal sutures in an effort to limit his trips to the vet. As IF I could be that lucky. When the vet saw him, not only was she relieved to not have to resuture, she was amazed at how well he was doing physically and how much more calm he was. At one point, he was eating treats out of the technician's hands! While they ooohed and aaahed over his progress, I just shook my head as this was the cat who would continue to hiss at me every time I came near his cage.

We do continue to make progress at home. I no longer have to scruff Morris to give him his twice daily dose of pain medication. He does still hiss at me when I go in his crate, but he then calmly lets me pet him. The day I hear him purring will be a beautiful day indeed.

On the horizon for Morris, he will be starting pain free laser therapy on Monday. He's going to receive six sessions of laser therapy combined with some stretching to ensure maximum mobility. As I mentioned before, cats, not being blindly obedient like dogs, aren't the greatest therapy patients, and certainly not a fearful kitty like Morris. I'm excited about the laser therapy and the vet is excited to be able to work with Morris. He'll go three times a week for the next two weeks and then follow up with the orthopedic surgeon to check his progress. I think the surgeon will be happy with what he sees and I can't wait to start giving Morris more time out of the crate to work on the atrophied muscles. I'm sure he'll be happy to exercise said muscles to get as far away from me as he possible can. Or not. We'll see what the coming weeks bring.

If you're in the area and you'd like to meet the kitty who changed the world, let me know. My house is always open. I'll even keep you doggie kiss free!

He only hates me on days that end in 'Y'

I have been trying to give Morris basic necessities as well as creature comforts as best I can within the confines of his condo. He has a pillow, some linens, food, water and a litterbox. I was using the trays from dog and cat food cans as a makeshift litterbox so that he wouldn't have to climb to relieve himself. He let me know his feelings on that as he promptly tipped everything over. I had a kitten sized litterbox so I put that in his crate and he is much happier about the whole thing. It takes up a lot more space than the little tray did, but if he's comfortable with it, then I'm good.

Monday was very uneventful. I removed Morris' e-collar because I wanted to be able to give him wet food Monday morning and didn't have the time to hold the plate around his e-collar. Monday evening, we spent some time bonding and his incisions looked good, so I left the collar off, pleased to be able to give Morris that freedom if not run of the basement again.

Tuesday dawned and it was just a rough day all around. Daylight saving time is not working in our favor this time around it seems. Anyway, I go down to tend to Morris and give him the first of his pain meds for the day. Not having the e-collar on was not a big challenge at all. I'm just insistent that he be open to my touch and take everything slow. He settles down after a couple of hisses and I'm able to do what I need to do. What was a big challenge was having to completely clean out his condo. He had rearranged to his taste. That mean that the litterbox was dumped, the water dish was dumped, and what was left in his water dish had absorbed the dry food that stays in his crate. I cleaned everything out, rearranged everything and put his favorite pillow in with him. It seemed that having the pillow made him calm down instantly.

Last night, I noticed that one of his incisions looked a little raw, while the other incision was fine. Before I went to bed, I put his e-collar back on. Let it be known that on your knees, stretched into a dog crate, balancing over a litterbox does not provide the best leverage for getting an e-collar on a cat. Just sayin'. He was amazingly patient while I poked around. I was able to eventually fashion the collar around his neck so that it resembled what the collar should look like. I went to bed so pleased that we had turned a corner in our relationship. I mean, I wouldn't want someone coming at me repeatedly with the "plastic cone of shame", and certainly not several times.

This morning, I could see why Morris was so patient with me. Not only had he ditched the e-collar with a quickness, he ditched it in the well used litterbox. He finally deigned to poop in the litterbox and it wasn't the prettiest sight I've ever seen. Add the e-collar on top of that and you have a right nice mess! As we speak, the e-collar is drying out from its thorough washing. I also made a follow up appointment for Morris so that we can get his incision looked at. The vet is concerned that they will have to resuture it, which hopefully won't be the case. And SOMEONE is going to get in trouble for Morris not wearing the "cone of shame". Wonder if I can convince them he's Houdini reincarnated??

Determined little kitty

As I mentioned in my previous post, on Saturday evening, I tucked Morris into his temporary condo (aka ginormous dog crate), but didn't latch the door. The door sticks when you open it or close it, so I figured there was no real need to latch the door. Plus, somehow, with everything Morris had gone through, it seemed like a callous act when surely, SURELY, the door would hold.

Sunday dawned, and after buzzing about doing my usual morning chores, it was time to check on Morris. He and the rest of the foster kitties are kept in my finished basement (very nice, very big, totally set up for kitties and kids) for their safety. That's a topic for another day and also not pertinent to this story. I opened the door to the basement and who should I see on the landing, but Morris. My initial reaction was that it was his brother, which made no sense as his brother had recently gone to his forever home, so it took me awhile to process Morris' true identity.

I should explain the layout of the steps. To get to the main level from my basement, there are ten steps, a landing, a turn, and then another five steps. So, in the night, after busting loose from his condo, Morris climbed the ten steps to get to higher ground so he could feel safe. No telling how long it took him to climb those steps, however, I can tell you it took him all of thirty seconds to run down the steps. As soon as he saw me, he took off running. All together now: OUCH! Thankfully, he cornered himself in the bathroom not far from the steps.

At this point, I have an angry kitty, who is cornered, hissing and spitting at me. He has wedged himself between the toilet and the wall of the shower, so catching him promises to be really really easy...if I can just get around the hissy party. This is where the e-collar becomes a huge advantage for me and a huge disadvantage for him. I took the end of a plunger (the handle end, not the plunger end...I'm not cruel!) and tipped his e-collar down. This allowed me to scruff him and put him back in his crate. Not what I was expecting on his second day post op, but I was definitely happy to see he was confident enough to move about.

Later that evening, I let him out of the crate to stretch his legs. He's not really interested in moving around in the crate, even though there's plenty of room for him to do so. I knew as long as he had the e-collar on, he would be fairly easy to catch. He moved into the room in the basement where most of the kitty toys are kept and ensconced himself on a donated dog pillow in there. When it was time to catch him to put him back in his crate, he put up the expected fight, but once again, the e-collar worked to his advantage as he cornered himself allowing me to catch him. I vowed then that his walkabouts were done as they were too stressful on his hips and too worrisome for me. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt his hips in the process of catching him, and being in the crate makes it easier for me to socialize him anyway. We'll see how he feels about that!

Homecoming

Exactly 24 hours after the scheduled consult, I set out to pick up Morris from the vet. I *might* have made a brief appearance at the outlet mall across the street from the vet, but that's not really pivotal to this story. While at the vet, one of the receptionists tried to convince me to take her albino corn snake that she rescued. As if!!! She did offer me the comfort of letting me know that Morris let her scritch him through the cage and didn't maim her. Awesome. Can't wait to get him home.

I walked into the room with the doctor's assistant and got the run down on Morris' care. No stairs, no vigorous activity, make sure he eats, poops and breathes. Suddenly, I found myself caring for a newborn with claws and fangs. It definitely wasn't the first time, but the last newborn with claws and fangs barely weighed 2 lbs. Whole different ballgame when the cat weighs 8 lbs. I got my instructions, my baggie fully of preloaded syringes, my pissed off kitty and away we went!

When we got home, I set him up in his "castle" and gave him space to chill out. Later that night, we spent quality time (and by quality I mean he didn't maim me) and I fed him almost literally out of my hand. I gently closed the door to his crate, left it unlatched and went to bed. The door sticks when opening or closing it, so I figured the chances of a recovering kitty opening were slim to none. He had a pain patch and seemed comfortable in his crate, so I went to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head. If only I knew what would be waiting for me the next day.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Time for the consult!

I scheduled an appointment for Morris to consult with Dr. Tibor Lazar of Veterinary Surgical Centers in Leesburg, VA. He came highly recommended by Dr. LaHaise at Stream Valley Veterinary Center in Ashburn, VA. Shout outs? You bet. These guys were professionals and truly cared about Morris and his plight.

Dr. Lazar had a heads up about Morris' condition and had already received X-ray films from Dr. LaHaise. When I scheduled Morris' appointment, I discussed the need for sedation with the staff. I knew there was no way Morris was going to cooperate during the exam. As a result, Morris wasn't able to take food in prior to the exam, which turned out to be fortuitous.

Dr. Lazar didn't really see the need to upset Morris with an examination, but took the time to discuss with me everything that was going on and Morris' options. He advised that performing a bilateral femoral head osteotomy was the best option for Morris. SPOILER ALERT: The next few sentences are going to be kind of gruesome. With an FHO, the socket part that goes into the hip is removed. This forces the surrounding muscles to form a sort of artificial socket allowing the hips to be more in alignment. The pelvis fracture would be left as is due to the number of complications associated with the surgery. By doing the surgery on both hips at the same time, Morris would be forced to use both legs thereby providing his own physical therapy.

When I asked Dr. Lazar what the next steps were, he said to me "Well, if you were leaving him today..." at which point, I interrupted him and said "Is that an option???" It most definitely was an option! Not only was there time available on the schedule, but since Morris hadn't had anything to eat since the night before, the fasting before surgery was already taken care of! Hallelujah! Morris would be that much closer to freedom from pain and I leapt at the opportunity (note to readers: this wasn't entirely selfless. It also meant I could minimize my trips to Leesburg). So, on Friday, March 11th, Morris had his bilateral FHO.

I gnawed my lip from 11 am to 5:30 when I finally heard back from Dr. Lazar. Morris came through the surgery with flying colors! Being able to go in and finally see the damage, Dr. Lazar said that the previously broken, now healed hip was causing a ton of pain for Morris. He, too, is hopefully that this surgery will turn Morris into a much much nicer kitty! That night, we spent some time preparing Morris' "condo" for the next couple of weeks: a ginormous dog airline crate with plenty of space for food, water, litterbox and sleeping. Morris would come home the very next day!

Fundraising

Many people are unaware of how expensive it is to rescue homeless animals. The rescue I work with routinely pays for vaccinations as well as the cost of the spay/neuter procedure. If you take your pet in to be spayed, it can cost upwards of $450, depending on the size of the pet. Neuters are slightly less, at $250, but expensive nonetheless. When you include the cost of vaccinations, usually around $100 for the full series (rabies, bordetella) and any additional testing/care that the animal will require (provided nothing goes drastically wrong), animals brought into rescue can cost an average of $400 - $600. When you consider that you're paying $350 (or $150 if it's a cat) to adopt this animal, that's a bargain!

Knowing the animal rescue deficit statistics, I was concerned about what this meant for Morris and his procedure. I shopped his story around to see what kind of "good" rates I could get for him. Ultimately, the best I got was $3000 including aftercare. I immediately set about fundraising for Morris. My goal was obviously $3000 so that there would be no impact on the rescue at all. I wasn't sure what my chances were of raising that, but I was willing to try to ensure that Morris would have a pain free life...well, pain free after his recovery.

I posted pictures of Morris' X-ray online and the response I got was overwhelming. Within MINUTES, donations started pouring in. I will never be able to adequately express my gratitude to the people who read Morris' story and believed in him, and believed in me, enough to contribute towards his cause. Within a week of starting to post about him, his surgery was fully funded. Many of the contributors were friends of mine, but there are some I've never met who gave their money to his cause. It was truly amazing and inspires me to continue to work in rescue. And that generosity will ensure Morris has a healthier life and greater adoption prospects.

Diagnosis

From the moment Morris and his brother were delivered to me, I knew I was in for it. Morris constantly used his brother as a shield and hissed whenever people came near. I had some experience with semi-feral kitties, and as disappointed as I was that this kitty would be around for a long time, I was not put off by any of Morris' antics.

Morris was scheduled for neuter shortly after I got him. Whenever I have "unaltered" animals, I get a little antsy wanting to get them "fixed" right away. Morris was no exception, but I wanted to give him time to settle down. In hindsight, waiting was probably very beneficial for Morris.

I was prompted to finally take Morris in to get neutered when his sister went into her second heat cycle. While I love a cat in heat as much as the next person (read: not at all), I didn't relish the thought of babies being born or being the indirect reason more babies were brought into this world. In the three months I had Morris, I noticed his gait was unusual and asked the vet to check him out while they had him.

Long and short, at some point Morris was caught by a predator either with very strong jaws or was hit by a car, fracturing both of his hips and his pelvis. He was always in pain and would require surgery on both hips to fix the problem. Life was about to get very very interesting for all of us.

Back story

Short and sweet about me: I've been fostering cats since May 2008, shortly after my daughter was born. People know that I work with a rescue and tend to reach out to me to help animals in need. Probably more than I should, I take these poor souls in and give them a home until they get adopted. The creed in the Shoup House is that once a foster, always a foster. Sometimes, this is to our detriment. But I digress.

In December of 2010, a woman sent me an email about three kittens who were found living under a shed. She previously adopted one of my kittens and a friend of her dad's was trying to get the kittens in with a rescue. I read "kittens...outside...winter" and was a goner. I did play a little cool and requested shots and testing for all the cats.

I have had Garfield, Morris and Shadoe since a week before Christmas 2010. Garfield has been adopted, Shadoe may never be adopted, but this blog is about Morris. Hopefully, the readers of this blog will gain an appreciation for the plight of so many homeless animals and the rescues that work to give them quality lives. This is just one kitten's story, but it could apply to so many animals. Please enjoy.