Last night we were trying to trap Mo, who has a wound on his neck, but we caught Ollie instead. Ollie is only seen occasionally but also had an injury on his side and was unneutered so we were happy to get him.The vet started his phone call saying he didn't have good news. Poor Ollie's left chest wall was infected from a chronic abcess and he was in bad shape, dehydrated, underweight, with nasty teeth. The vet placed him at at least 8 years of age and recommended some blood work. Well, the news only got worse, FIV positive, anemic, high white blood cell count and on close examination the wound showed to be very deep and filled with pus. With all that going on, there was a very good chance Ollie wouldn't be able to recover so we made the agonizing decision to euthanize him.
And yes, I cried. He may have just been a feral cat, but he was a feral cat that I felt responsible for, who most assuredly had a hard life. Feral cats only exist because of irresponsible pet owners who don't spay and neuter. It's one of the reasons I spend so much time and money spaying and neutering and making sure the kittens get out and find homes, because I know what the other option is for these cats, and it's not pretty. So excuse me if I sound upset but poor Ollie was never loved, was never patted and I can only be happy that he had a humane end to his suffering.
All the more reason to cry. He didn't have a home, a loving owner etc. But he had you making his life a little easier. He was lucky there. I would cry for a feral. A cat is a cat....and that's that.
ReplyDeletePoor Ollie, at least you gave him food and a little easier life for a time.
ReplyDelete