Perdy As a Picture!

The phone rang on a day like any other.  The caller was concerned about a cat that her grandmother, who had recently passed away, had been caring for before she became ill.  She wondered if we could take the cat into our rescue.  We don't always have room to take in more cats because they are much slower to adopt out than dogs, even during an upswing in adoptions.  Fortunately, we were able to say yes to this particular kitty.

The woman brought in the kitty and shared more of the story.  The granddaughter was the only one who thought about the cat after the grandmother passed away.  She went back to her grandmother's property to find her.  When she did, the cat was very thin, and she called us. 

The cat was normally taken inside during the winter by her grandmother who worried about the cat's well-being during these cold Iowa winters.  During the summer months, the grandmother would set her outside to play and be a cat.  The granddaughter could recall the cat having been spayed, but doubted that the cat had been to the veterinarian for annual check-ups anytime recently.   She estimated the age of the cat to be around 6 or 7 years old. 

When we looked into the cage, we saw this beautiful all white cat.  I could immediately see some health issues that would need to be dealt with, but I was so glad we took her into rescue.  She needed us.  She was so skinny.  She had runny eyes.  She had shortened, shriveled ears.  But she had a spark in her eyes.  And her white coat was pathetically dirty.

Perdy's purrsonality is purrrfect. (say that three times fast!)  She is a sweet and gentle angel.  She is gaining weight.  Her tail is very odd in the way it lays down flat on her back with a curl when you pet her.  It is not a health issue in any way, but an adorable trait.  She has tested negative for both feline leukemia virus and FIV virus.  She has been treated for worms, fleas and earmites.  She has been vaccinated for distemper virus and rabies.  She has been microchipped.  It was also discovered that she is spayed and front declawed.  She has had the run of the clinic for a few weeks now, and enjoys sleeping in small boxes.

Perdy's stubby ears are consistent with either frostbite or ear tipping.  Ear tipping is a type of ear notching where instead of taking a small triangle off the side of the ear, the top point of the ear is removed.  Ear tipping is usually performed on only one ear, and the intent is to let people know from a distance that a cat is fixed. It is often used when colonies of cats are fixed so the caretakers know who has been done without having to get "personal" with the cat.  The problem with ear tipping versus ear notching is that it can mimic frostbite lesions or other traumatic ear injuries.  Since both ears were involved with this girl, it was not likely that this resulted from an intentional ear tip.  It is more likely that she has had frostbite on her ear tips.  With frostbite, severe cold damages the peripheral tissue (usually ears, toes or tail) and, as a result, the blood vessels quit providing the area with blood.  The tissue dies off leaving the ears with this stunted appearance and the edges are often comprised of unhealthy tissue.

There were also scabs on the top side of Miss Perdy's ears.  I was hoping they were minor injuries that would heal and go away...unfortunately, they did not.  They persisted .  White cats are very susceptible to skin cancer on their ears and on their face, two areas that the sun is easily exposed to because the hair is shorter and more sparse.  These lesions could be such a cancer so, today, we had to amputate much of what was left of Perdy's ear flaps, aka pinnae, and are sending them off for biopsy.  We should know in a week or two whether these lesions were cancer or chronic inflammation.  Either way, her ear flaps will have healthy edges with less of a tendency to bleed with even the most minor or traumas. 

Please pray for our Perdy.  She seems to have been through a few of her nine lives, and we hope to keep her around for some time. 

We need help paying for Perdy's medical care, surgery, and biopsy.  If you can help hinder the costs of the veterinary care for Perdy and the other animals that we rescue, you can send contributions via http://www.paypal.com/ to email address immydog@msn.com, or mail contributions to South Hamilton Animal Alliance PO Box 354, Jewell, IA 50130.  Your funds will go directly to the veterinary care for Perdy and other animals in our care.  You can visit them online at this link:  SHAA

Please stay tuned for updates on Miss Perdy.  Biopsy results should be back in 7-14 days.


UPDATE:  http://vetrescue.blogspot.com/2011/02/still-perdy-as-picture.html

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