Recently we took in a cat that looked like he had pretty much been on his own most of his life. He was not neutered, his fur was very dirty, his ears were bloody and he had a mouth full of bad teeth.
Despite his condition, he is a very loveable guy. We named him Rocky Road because it was evident that life had not been easy for him.
He was held at the sanctuary in quarantine for the allotted amount of time. No one came to claim him.
We took him to the vet to get his ears taken care of and get him neutered, vaccinated and tested. It was determined that he was anemic. He had a very bad case of ear mites; thus the bloody ears.
(Courtesy of Lorraine Monfils)
He spent the night at the vet and then came back to the sanctuary so we could fatten him up for his dental surgery.
All Rocky Road really needed was routine vet care to take care of his medical issues. Instead, he was left to fend for himself. His ears were very painful and torn up from scratching. His mouth was so painful he had difficulty eating.
Last week Rocky Road went for his dental care, which resulted in a full-mouth extraction because his mouth was so bad. A few days after his dental operation, he was taken back to the vet because he wasn’t doing well. He was put on some long-acting pain medications and had a full panel of bloodwork.
Then things started to improve for him. He started eating and his red blood cells were starting to regenerate. It’s all positive news. He will spend a few more days at the vet and then return back to the sanctuary.
So far the vet bill for Rocky Road is around $2,000. If you take anything away from this story, please understand that when you have a pet, they require vet care. Yes, it can be expensive, but it is a necessity in order for your pet to stay healthy.
Thank you for your continued support and, as always, thank you for reading our column.
The Ark Animal Sanctuary is located at 102 Old Woodstock Rd., Houlton. Visit them online at arkanimalsanctuary.org/home, call 532-7387 or check out their Facebook page.
