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Hi everyone, my name is
Joan and I am a volunteer with West Lothian Cats Protection. I want
to share Daisy's story with you as it shows that we never ever give
up on a cat who we think has a quality of life, no matter how ill they
are when they come into our care. I also feel very privileged to
have been part of this little lady's life for a short time and I
also want to let you know that there are wonderful, caring people
out there who have taken Daisy not only into their home but also
into their hearts.
One wet and horrible Friday evening just as my husband and myself
were planning to share a bottle of wine the phone rang. It was Roz
who is also a Cats Protection volunteer. As soon as she said "Hi
love, are you doing anything?" I knew that the bottle of wine would
remain unopened! She had been notified of a cat who was extremely
ill and wanted someone to go with her to collect it. We flew along
to Bathgate and all three of us went in to a flat where we found
Daisy. We do see some cats who can be in very poor condition but
when we saw wee Daisy we were shocked. She couldn't stand, was
shaking her head from side to side, drooling and meowing pitifully.
It was a meow which I will never forget as long as I live. The lady
in the flat was under the influence of alcohol but she was able to
inform us that the cat had been hanging about her garden for a
period of time and she had taken her into her home with a view to
keeping her. She consented to sign the cat over to our care and we
left as quickly as possible to take Daisy to the vet as a matter of
urgency. We were not sure about the outcome of the appointment as
she was so very, very ill the possibility that she may be put to
sleep was high on the agenda. We called our veterinary practice and
bearing in mind that it was now 22.30 we were relieved to find that
the on call vet was still on the premises. When Anna checked Daisy
over she wasn't sure what was causing her to be so ill but damage to
her brain was suspected. Daisy was also crawling with fleas, in fact
she had so much flea dirt on her white fur, it was actually brown.
After much debate we decided that we would take Daisy home and put
her in a heated cabin so that we could observe her over the next few
days. Anna felt that she deserved a chance of life and we agreed
with her. We placed Daisy in a heated bed and put padding around her
to prevent further damage to her as she was constantly swaying from
side to side. We were uplifted a bit when she managed to eat food
from my hand. In fact the wee soul was starving and managed a good
amount of soft cat food. I stayed with her, gently stroking her
until she fell asleep and I had a sleepless night myself, worrying
about her and what we might find in the morning. The next day she
remained very ill but was making attempts to headbutt my hand and
she was purring. She seemed to be very relaxed snuggled up in her
heated bed and we kept a very close eye on her during the day. She
continued to eat from my hand and I managed to comb lots of dead
fleas and flea dirt from her fur hoping that this would help her to
feel a little better. Over the next few days we observed her closely
and she returned to the vets to have lots of blood tests carried
out, all of which were normal. Daisy had a dreadful reaction to
having her blood taken and scratched and bit the vet. She was
hyperventilating, her heart rate was very rapid and her pupils were
huge. We stayed at the vets for around ten minutes but she was still
very anxious. We decided that it would be best to take her back to
her pen and I sat with her for over an hour before her breathing and
pulse returned to normal. Again, I thought we might lose her but
Daisy pulled through. We continued to hand feed Daisy but at this
point she was incontinent of both urine and faeces. We were again
having to face the question of whether this cat's life was ever
going to give her enough dignity or would it be better for us to
allow her to be at peace? However, the very next day I noticed that
she had used her litter box. She was hardly able to stand but this
brave cat had started to pull herself to her litter tray. I must
admit that I try to put myself over as being a bit of a tough cookie
but this made me feel so humble that I ended up with tears pouring
down my cheeks as I watched this very ill cat dragging herself into
her tray, rather that soil her bedding. Slowly but surely Daisy
started to improve. We moved her into one of our bedrooms in the
house and took every opportunity to carry her into the living room
to allow her to cuddle up beside one of us to watch the TV and to
see some normal family life. Our own three cats are very tolerant
and are now so used to cats of all shapes and sizes coming into
their home that they didn't really bother about Daisy. Our old boy,
Fergus, used to go into Daisy's bedroom and sit quietly, just
looking at her. She often slept for most of his visits but sometimes
she would waken up suddenly and shriek at him sending him galloping
down the hall! He always went back to her room though, and spent
hours with her almost as if he was willing her to get better. At
this stage Daisy was continent and could feed herself, she had
started to groom herself but was still very unsteady on her feet and
continued to wave her head from side to side. My husband and I had
conversations with other volunteers and although we knew it was
unlikely that Daisy would ever be a 'normal' cat, everyone, including
our vets, thought that she now had a quality of life. At any time
had we been advised by our vets that her life should be ended if
they felt her existence was not dignified or if they suspected she
was in pain, we would have agreed to euthanasia but thankfully she
just got better and better. The next step was to decide what her
future would be. My husband and I spoke with Roz and the vets and we
agreed to try to rehome her. This would have to be to a very special
home and I must admit that we all thought that we had a difficult
job on our hands. We had already decided that we would keep Daisy if
we could not find that very special new owner but as I have said
there are people out there who have so much compassion and care so
deeply for animals regardless of disability, that we found a home
for Daisy very quickly. She has been with her new family now for a
number of months and is doing really well. John and Joyce have had
previous experience of having a cat who was brain damaged so we were
delighted that she was going to a home which would give her the best
possible chance and give her the time and encouragement to get as
well as possible. She also lives with a number of beautiful cats who
all have disabilities. This wonderful home and the extended family
who are regular visitors achieve so much for cats who may otherwise
no longer be with us. We knew immediately that this was the very
best place for Daisy to live to enable her to continue her
rehabilitation. John and Joyce were happy to have her the way she
was but, like us, were hoping that her rehabilitation would continue
under their care, which it has done.
Daisy now has a tranquil new home and is loved to bits by all who
meet her. She potters around and has developed a bit of 'cattitude'
which has earned her the title of 'Daisy the Diva.' She has needed
some further veterinary care when her family noticed that she had a
broken tooth but otherwise she is well. She still has some
difficulty walking but the sorry wee soul who we rescued that Friday
night is now a confident, healthy wee lady who can manage to jump up
onto her owners bed for those special cat cuddling sessions which
are so important to our feline friends.
We will never really know what happened to Daisy, maybe it was
trauma to her head, maybe lack of oxygen to her brain for whatever
reason, maybe she had a stroke, who knows. All we care about is that
she will be loved, cared for and wanted for the rest of her days.
I would just like to say thank you to our vets for not giving up on
this beautiful cat, to Cats Protection for the support Allan and I
have had from you and especially to Ian, Roz's husband, who was
instrumental in finding Daisy her new home. To John and Joyce (aka
Daisy's Mum and Dad), Allan and myself would like to thank you from
the bottom of our hearts. You are very, very special people.
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