Seguin Animal Hospital is in the business of caring for animals, but they usually have someone to send an animal home with. In the case of K.C., a soulful gray and white kitty, however, these special animal doctors saved his life and fostered him for rehabilitation with no home to send him back to.
K.C. couldn’t walk, pee or poop when he met Dr. Tara Card, a veterinarian on the staff at SAH, but he could still love.
“His heart is what saved him,” said Tracy Sparks, a veterinary technician at SAH.
K.C.’s family had been taking good care of him, but the treatment he would need to relieve his constipation and blocked urination was way beyond their means. They didn’t want to put him to sleep, but they just didn’t have more options. Dr. Card saw something special in K.C., who is 5 years old. She asked if they would sign him over to her, so she could give him the life-saving care he needed.
“They were happy to sign him over because it meant his life,” said Dr. Bridget Feldhaus, who has worked along with Dr. Card to save K.C.
“Sometimes there’s a cat, a dog, a llama, you just have to fight for him,” Dr. Feldhaus said. “Dr. Card did the medical work. At first he couldn’t really get up, he was so constipated.”
K.C. didn’t use his hind legs because he had a back injury and had become obese as well. K.C.’s elimination is functioning again, although he will require constant vigilance throughout his life to keep it going. The muscles in K.C.’s back legs had atrophied from lack of use, but he is up and about now, moving all over in the back rooms of the animal hospital.
“Every day he walks more and more. The whole treatment area has become his home,” vet tech Tracy Sparks said. With his newly restored mobility, K.C. needs more space to move around in to stay on the road to a normal weight and good health.
The staff veterinarians and vet techs have all helped to rehabilitate him after his critical care. They get him walking to them for treats – only those that are approved on his diet, of course – and for petting.
Dr. Feldhaus got down on his level and invited K.C. to come to her. K.C. started out confidently, fell down, got up, and made it to her hand for petting. “He has good function of his tail,” Dr. Feldhaus said, “He’s placing himself well. He loves going under cupboards. He’s lovely.”
K.C. purred as Dr. Feldhaus stroked him. “He’ll get mad if you stop! He loves everybody. He talks to everybody. You talk to him and he talks back,” she said.
He now weighs 21.6 pounds after losing 2 pounds since his arrival at SAH about a month ago. He will need to lose a few more pounds before he gets to his ideal weight. The vets have him on a weight management food that is available by prescription and helps him lose up to 1 or 2 percent of his body weight per week, a rate of weight loss that SAH staff veterinarian Dr. Deb Cunningham says is safe for cats.
The family that adopts KC will need to continue to feed him this food for weight loss and management after he gets closer to his ideal weight of about 15 pounds.
K.C. is thriving on this food and the loving care he has received from the staff veterinarians and veterinary technicians. K.C. also doesn’t mind taking medication.
Vet tech Tracy Sparks said, “He loves to weigh himself! And he likes to hold your hand while you feed him.”
Although the entire staff loves K.C., he needs to move into a home with people who will tend to his special needs in order to continue his amazing recovery. He has been living around dogs, and even some cats, and stays relaxed. He does well on the uncarpeted floor in the clinic. His delicate back and special needs mean that a home with small children isn’t a good match, but he’s pretty comfortable with dogs. And like his doctors say, he loves all people.
ARF – Animal Rescue Foundation is handling applications to adopt K.C. Just call or text 830-743-1017. Barbara can give you the details. ARF can support transport to the right family.
PS I can’t find your share buttons. Is it my settings?
My human needs to update our version of WordPress, and so on, but it’s always possible to copy the URL and paste it in Facebook and Twitter.
Our best wishes for KC we will share your post on FB and twitter and see if we can help.
Hope this dear kitty finds a wonderful home. And thank goodness the clinic took over to helped KC so that he has a chance at a happy life
Sounds like a wonderful cat and we sure wsh we could give him that chance that he needs. Bless that clinic for caring so much and helping him. We hope he finds a great home soon. M’s heart is breaking for him.