One Dark Night.....

by Miriam
(Americus GA USA)

Mason and Monte

Mason and Monte

.....my daughter Hannah thought she heard a groaning growl out near our ditch as we came walking up to our back porch. The next day after school she did some more investigating to find a HUGE black cat in our ditch with a terrible injury. He looked as though he had fought off a dog.

The injury was a patch of skin that had been torn away from his neck about the size of the palm of your hand. We put him in a large cage with a clean place to sleep, a litterbox, and some fresh food and water. I put some antibiotic salve on his wound and covered it with some sterile bandages. He was cooperative because he was exhausted. We mixed antibiotic into his wet cat food and just kept watch over him as he healed.

A few weeks later when he finally healed up we let him out of the cage to investigate his surroundings and he started licking our hands and purring. We thought he was completely black all over till he flipped over on his back. He had white arm pits and a white patch over his lower belly.

My 16 year old son named him Monte, and my husband called him scarface, like the gangster from the 1920's. This big tom cat was so gentle and happy that we helped him. He had large yellow gold eyes that stood out against his inky shiny black coat. A few weeks later his health began to decline for no apparent reason, so we took him to the vet. He had feline leukemia and was in the later stages of it. The vet said that we needed to put him to sleep to prevent the spread of the disease and to prevent him from suffering as his organs began to fail one by one.

It was a sad sad day for our family. We worked so hard to get him healed up, only to lose him to feline leukemia. Please remember to get your cat vaccinated! We miss Monte.

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One Dark Night.....

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Jul 14, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Feline Leukemia
by: Story Author

Feline Leukemia is the equivalent of AIDS in humans. It is a virus that attacks the immune system of a cat so that it has a decreased ability to fight off disease. It is highly contagious to other cats and you can find out more information about it at www.felineleukemia.org. Kittens and cats can be vaccinated against it, but once your cat has it, it can both transmit it to other cats and will eventually die from the disease. Outdoor cats are especially prone to catch this disease. It is better to vaccinate a kitten at 12 weeks of age and have it neutered too so that it can be protected, especially if it is to be an outdoor cat.

After having witnessed this disease in person, it is a cruel thing to not have your cat vaccinated. It is no wonder that cats that are found with the disease are put down. The night before we took Monte to the vet he was losing bladder control and moaning with pain. My son stayed up with him all night trying to get him to drink water, and making every effort to make him comfortable until the vets office was open again.

My message to present cat owners is this:
First go have your cat checked for the disease. If the test is negative then get your cat vaccinated. If your cat has the disease, then usually the vet will reccomend having the cat put to sleep, or you can keep your cat, but not let it outside where it will come in contact with other cats, and then when the disease progresses to where your cat is beginning to suffer from the disease, then put it to sleep.

Sincerely
M.Finley

Jul 12, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		hi
by: squirrelflight

Oh my goodness! i'm so sorry! I love cats! I hope you'll find another little kitty.
PS:what's luekemia?
May 10, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Big Gentle Cat.
by: Latasha

That's a sad story but much kudos to you for doing all you could for him.

My sister had a big black cat, he was a gentle boy too. I hope that one day you will be able to look after another cat.

Latasha.
x
Apr 26, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		A fine big black cat.
by: Larry (Editor)

Hi Miriam,

Thank you very much indeed for sharing your wonderfully touching story about Monte.

It must have been heartbreaking for you all to have lost him, he looks like he was a fine big black cat.

You did all you could for him in the time that you had his company and I'm sure that he knew he was much loved.

Your advice about vaccinations is so very right, it's essential.

Larry (Editor)

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