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Monday, January 23, 2012

the happy story of Morris the cat, or, sometimes the day ends well


It was one of our late nights at the vet so the appointment was after 5pm, when there were only three of us: myself, the doc/veterinarian, and an assistant. The client had a cat that had gotten into some sort of tussle with something else. It could’ve been another cat or some other wild animal but whatever it was bit poor Morris* all up. He ended up with all four legs shaved and pocked with red bite wounds all over his body.

The bad thing was Morris wasn’t vaccinated for rabies – or anything else for that matter and the owner knew it. She was in tears, well aware that the cat has two options: euthanasia or a six-month quarantine. The tears told me that euthanasia was the likely option unless we could figure out a way to quarantine the cat elsewhere because unfortunately she couldn’t quarantine him at her house. Worse yet, our technician – who usually helps out in these cases – was already taking care of one quarantined cat.

I called her any way, hoping there might be some way she could house two quarantined cats in her little outbuilding. Because none of us wanted to euthanize Morris, who pretty much purred through his shave down and treatment. He was way too nice to kill but unless he could be quarantined …curtains.

Luckily, two things happened to make this a happy story. First, he bit the doc when she tried to stuff a pill down his throat (no surprise there, I’d have bit her, too), which gave him a bit of a reprieve. That gave our technician time to work out a way to quarantine him, thereby saving Morris life.

We tested him for Feline Leukemia and FIV (Feline AIDS, and no you can’t get it), gave him a rabies vaccination, and neutered him the next day. Ten days later he went to our tech’s outbuilding where he’ll live for six months. Then he’ll go back to the lady who brought him to live happily ever after.


Whew!

* and yes, I swear he looked just like the original Morris, with a fat happy face and personality to match (we're not counting the nibble; he was under duress).

21 comments:

  1. Glad it worked out well in the end for Morris and his owner. He does look like a Morris.

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  2. Aw...that has to be tough, thinking an animal will see his/her end that way. Glad you were able to work something out for dear Morris. :)

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  3. Isn't biting the doc a BAD thing, considering the cat might have rabies?!

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    1. Yes - because it would be bad if the cat actually had rabies but thus far we've never had a cat turn up positive. No - because by biting the doc the cat automatically got a 10 day quarantine which gave our tech time to make arrangements, thereby saving Morris' life.

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  4. Biting that vet probably saved his life.

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  5. sometimes you hav to nip to save your life!
    thx for the happy ending

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  6. I'm glad Morris is having a second chance.

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  7. What a great story! Thank goodness everything worked out well!

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  8. We were all happy Morris got a second chance, too, since it was doubtful he had rabies and he was a really sweet guy, strolling around the exam room, purring. He deserved a second chance.

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  9. Oh thank heavens!! Phew!! Well done everyone!!

    Hugs, hugs, hugs to Morris!!

    Take care
    x

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  10. Aww, how rough! Glad you all were able to find somewhere to quarantine the kitty!

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  11. It would've been heartbreaking if that poor cat had to be put down. The owner would never have forgiven herself for not getting him the proper vaccinations. Who would've thought biting someone could save his life? Lucky guy. (If the critter he tussled with had rabies, will the shot Morris got now be enough to protect him from getting sick?)

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    1. That's the hope, though it is possible (albeit unlikely) he could come down with the disease in which case he would have to be euthanized. And yes, we get very annoyed with people who don't vaccinate their animals for rabies, especially their cats for some reason, who always seem to get the short end of the stick.

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  12. That's a great story. I'm glad he got a second chance!

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  13. What are the requirements for housing a quarantined pet?
    Can one volunteer to help house an animal?

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    1. Anyone who wanted to house a quarantined animal should be vaccinated against rabies first - as our tech is - no matter how remote the chance the pet has rabies. Better safe than sorry in this case. However, there are lots of opportunities to foster pets through your local shelter or rescue group and I can think of someone whose name begins with S who might like that :)

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  14. Lucky lucky Morris. And smart too, for biting the Doc.

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  15. Lots of paws applause for a happy kitty ending. Here's to hoping that whatever happens, kitty won't have to suffer through this again.

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  16. My sister had this dilemma with a cat she rescued. He's long through the quarantine now and spends his days wreaking havoc on the birds and rabbits in her yard.

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    1. Glad he made it through his quarantine. Sorry about his decimation to the local bird and rabbit population!

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  17. What a story. I'm so glad he was able to be saved!

    Now, I just noticed that your the second blog I've been on tonight that can Reply - how did you do that?

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