To the previous owners of one orange and grey calico, spayed pussy cat that you dumped on West Ellendale last fall – you know the one – she was always sick with a runny nose/respiratory infection. Or maybe she didn’t have the snotty nose when you abandoned her and then attempted to shoot her with a shotgun, only wounding her and adding to her misery.
In this horrible condition, she tried her best to take care of herself for nearly four months, hiding in a barn, too traumatized to trust a human to come anywhere near her. By the grace of God, she survived the coyotes and was able to catch a few rodents to sustain her and drink from the surface rain water, although her body weight dropped to nearly ½ of what it should have been.
It is inconceivable to me that someone who cares enough about a cat to have them spayed can abandon them in such an inhumane and cruel manner; sick, deformed, full of fleas, infested with round worms, and then wound them, leaving them for dead. Do you ever wonder what happened to your kitty? Do you console yourself with thoughts that she died instantly, or that someone took her right in and she lived happily ever after? If you did not want her, you at least owed her a merciful demise with a fatal injection. Didn’t have the nerve? Couldn’t afford it? You paid to have her spayed. She didn’t have to suffer.
If you recognize this cat and had a hand in her suffering, you deserve the same fate. If, on the other hand, you recognize this cat and she just disappeared last fall through no fault of your own, there is good news. She found her way into the barn and hands of someone who does rescue and foster work for the Willamette Humane Society; someone who has dedicated their life to minimizing the suffering of animals.
It took nearly four months before she would let me get anywhere near her and another two months before I could touch her, so great was her distrust of humans. With daily bribes of warm milk and dishes of good, quality cat kibble, along with a nest deep in the hay of our distant barn, she survived the winter; the rain, the frost, the cold, the neighbor dogs, and the coyotes, but her nasal infection never cleared and she was given to bouts of sneezing, coughing, gagging, and choking. Her thick fur became stiff with the uncontrollable expectoration. I didn’t think she would make it through the winter without veterinary care. At least I was able to administer flea control.
As soon as she trusted me enough to allow me to pick her up and take her to the vet, a diagnosis was made: The persistent infection was caused by a cleft palette. Some of everything that poor cat tried to eat or drink would wind up in her nasal cavity, causing a constant irritation. The veterinarian couldn’t determine if it was congenital or caused by trauma. Maybe you just threw her mercilessly out of your moving car and the impact caused her palette to split. Maybe someone in your family threw her away because she was always sick. We’ll never know for sure. A surgery was scheduled and successfully performed by Dr. Trina Brotherton, Polk Veterinary Clinic. The cat was removed from the drafty barn and brought into our home. Within days after the surgery, the awful, convulsive choking fits started to subside. Her lumpy coat began to give way to the silky, gleaming pelt of a well-cared for pet. There is only one remaining shotgun pellet embedded in her neck.
“Jasmine” (aka, “Miracle”) is one of the most loving, affectionate, joyful pets that one could ever hope for. Her distrust of humans has transformed into an undying gratefulness; her future comfort virtually assured. She is the consummate lap cat; playful, and forgiving.
The lesson I have learned from this cat is a lesson we should all heed. It’s about forgiveness, it’s about trust, and most of all, it’s about love. We would all do well in our lives to follow her example; be wary, be careful who you trust, and at the end of the day, give all of your love away and don’t hold on to a grudge.
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cat, cruelty to animals, love, forgiveness, humane, survival
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