A success story from rescue to re-homing : Jay the cat

Cat Stats:
Name: Jay
Age: approx. 1.5 years
Rescue: In a downtown compound, starving to death and with an open bite wound on his face.
Temperament: Affectionate, playful, active and social.
Funny habits: resting his chin in your hand…for as long as you can hold your hand still! and sleeping with his head on a tiny pillow.
Investment: Rescuer donated RMB4000 in blood work, medicine, reconstructive surgery and neutering (cat rescued during SCAA animal intake ban) and 2 months of foster care; SCAA provided RMB 160 for second vaccination and a new foster home for 2 months.
Status: Adopted

SCAA Foster Animals are rescued in varying states of ill health or injury.  Some only need a warm bath and some flea and worm treatment to turn them into the cute and cuddly animals you see in the website Adoptable Pet Gallery.

There are many other rescue experiences we don’t share as often: the foster parent time and dedication that the sick and injured animals need before they are ready for adoption.

Jay’s Rescue

Jay’s rescuer found him in a downtown Shanghai garden in June 2007.  At the time, the intention was to give a friendly adult cat the extra food she had in her handbag (crazy cat ladies always have some cat food in their handbag!) and move on. 

As Jay came over to the fence, desperate for some food, it was obvious he was suffering from a long-neglected open bite wound on his face.  The skin on the right side of his face was torn away, exposing a large area of tissue.  Even more shocking was his size / weight.  As a fully-grown adult cat at least a year old, Jay was emaciated.  So, faced with either taking in a 5th cat , when 4 is already more than enough!, or leaving Jay to die, the decision was made to immediately get Jay medical attention.

At the vet, Jay weighed in at only 2.18 kilos (4.8 pounds).  He should have weighed around 5 kilos (11 pounds) at his age. 

 

Recovery

Luckily, Jay was only suffering from a mild infection that had not spread to major organs.  Jay’s face was repaired by Dr Christian Chang DVM, MA of Petshome, and you can see from his photos above that he still needed to put on a lot of weight.  Jay was more than happy to work on this as he devoured 5 packs of kitten tuna every day for several weeks! 

Jay’s treatment included antibiotics and, once his stitches were removed, he was given a good wash.

As Jay recovered throughout the summer, he doubled his weight and was ready for another surgery – neutering.  Soon after, Jay adapted well to a new foster home, gladly following his new SCAA foster mom, Melanie McGanney, around the house and sleeping at her feet.  His next hurdle would be finding a good permanent home at SCAA Adoption Day.

 

Happily ever after…

It was Jay’s lucky day when he met Katie Ferguson and her son Declan at a recent SCAA Adoption Day.  9-year-old Declan took an instant liking to Jay and insisted he was the right cat for him.   A few weeks later, the Ferguson family says they are “so excited to have him [Jay] with us!”.

 

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!! FOSTER, ADOPT, DONATE TO SCAA!!