Bones was a rescue case brought to us by a group of local teen/20's boys. They had found her unable to walk, and almost starved to death and brought her to us because I have a reputation for "knowing what to do" for injured cats. It was touch and go for the first night. Bones was ice cold, and you could see every bone in her body. When you moved her at all, you could hear the sound of snapping and creaking of broken bones and joints so dehydrated that they had no fluid to cushion them anymore. She didn't even have the energy to howl in pain at first. She lay, in my lap, bundled up in towels and blankets, as I used a syringe to pry into the corner of her mouth some drops of warm water mixed with a high calorie supplement. I couldn't even be sure she swallowed much of it, but I kept at it for an hour. Her eyes were half open, and her body was stiff with cold. As I forced another drop of fluid into her mouth, suddenly - out of nowhere, a cat appeared behind the blank stare. Her head picked up, and she attacked the syringe, sucking down the rest of the liquid like she was starving to death. I began to cry, for at that very moment I thought she just MIGHT have a chance of survival! I warmed a hot pack, and put it in the blankets with her (and she cried out when I moved her to get it in there), and mixed a mixture of water, supplement and wet cat food. She sucked it down instantly. I set her down, and she half dragged, half walked her way out of her bundle, and over to a bowl of food. I made an appointment the very next morning with a specialist for spinal injuries. I had seen a cat walk that way once before. Years ago, long before I began to do cat rescue, one of my much loved pets had fallen out of a laundry basket that was sitting on a glass topped coffee table. He lost his balance and his back hit the edge of the glass, it was broken. At the time, I took him to a vet, and he was put on meds and cage rest, but the next day he couldn't walk at all, and my vet advised surgery or euthansia. I didn't have the money for the surgery (and didn't know at the time about all the other ways to fund medical needs for pets that are out there), so I put him down. I was determined to NOT let that happen to Bones! I knew more now, and I knew that cats can even live happy lives being paralysed and they make kitty wheelchairs. At the vet, Bones was examined and x-rayed, and indeed, she did have a broken back, as well as possible pelvic fractures. She was put on strict cage rest, and given metacam for inflammation and pain. At first, it wasn't easy for her. Just getting the foot necessary to get from her kennel to the shallow dish I gave her for a litterpan was a struggle. She often fell over trying to get into and out of the pan. She cried if you had to pick her up for any reason. But, slowly, she improved. It was just over two months later when she was first able to get up on the couch with us to snuggle. At three months after the day she arrived, she was playing like a normal cat. Today, she's the the queen of the house. At 6 pounds, she is still the smallest cat here, but she makes up for her lack of size with pure Siamese attitude! Pinky, the 16 pound buff male even runs from her when she gives him the evil look. We call her "little devil" now.

As you can see below, Bones has come a long way since her arrival!


Compare first image, taken when Bones first arrived on 06/02/05, to the second image of Bones on 08/24/05. Her stance is much more confortable, and her posture shows marked improvement. You can not see her hip bones anymore, and she is in good weight. She looks happier too.


First photo (06/02/05), in her kennel, on bed rest with broken spine, note the limp tail, and rear legs held in strange posture, and how skinny she was. The second photo (08/24/05), shows her laying under the cat tree, after a game of chase, batting at an orange juice concentrate seal. MUCH happier cat now! See her coat shine?


In the first photo, Bones could barely lift her rear legs high enough to get in and out of this shallow casserole dish litter pan, and often fell over (06/02/05). In the second Photo taken 08/24/05, Bones is in full attack mode, about to jump into the air to catch a "Da-Bird" toy flying over her head.

Bones has been such a joy to us, we just love her so much! She's always such a sweet girl, and we've become very attached to her during her recovery!