When the HOPE Spay Neuter Clinic of Versailles, Kentucky received a call about a paralyzed kitten with a ruptured eye at a rural feral cat colony, president DeeDee Lloyd said, “Bring him to me.”
The kitten in question, Raylan, was in a bad way and taken immediately for medical care, and there, the vet discovered it wasn’t a rupture of the eye they were dealing with, but instead, as DeeDee explained, “He had a Cuterebra larvae in his eye socket.”
But the eye larvae, or warble as they’re sometimes called, wasn’t the only issue. This poor kitten had an old injury to his lower back, “possibly from being thrown out of a car or by someone kicking him.” Though the injury left his back legs paralyzed, the vet assured DeeDee the sweet kitten felt no pain. And when it came to the Cuterebra invasion, eventually, Raylan’s eye should move back to its proper place with the nasty larva gone.
From Cuterebra Invasion to Loved Cutie
“Handsome and rugged,” Raylan had a long year of physical therapy, and though his back legs would never bear weight again, Raylan, DeeDee, and all the cat lovers of HOPE “worked at straightening his spine and getting the rest of his body stronger.”
Raylan never let his disability slow him down and, as DeeDee shared, “He played like any other cat, and he really enjoyed life.” Going everywhere with his found family and meeting new friends, “he basked in the attention!”
“His favorite place was PetSmart; we’d set him down and he would boot scoot to the fish section. All the employees loved him.”
“Raylan was an ambassador for special needs animals, as well as black cats everywhere.”
But tragedy soon came for Raylan and all those who loved him, as “one night, the biggest part of Raylan, his heart, was failing.”
“I watched as my husband hugged him to his chest and sobbed. We held Raylan as he took his last breath, watching as he took a piece of our heart with him.”
“My little man put his heart and soul into everything he did, and our lives are the better because of him.”
Happiness Found Thanks To Rescue Back and You!
Without your help, Raylan might never have found his chance at a happy and purpose-driven life. Because you shop with iHeartCats, you’re funding chances at forever!
Every purchase you make donates money to rescues and shelters working hard to care for cats and kittens in need, all thanks to a partnership between www.iHeartCats.com and Greater Good Charities. This purpose-driven family of charities devotes their efforts to improving not only our lives, but the lives of animals too. And one of the best ways to serve animals in need is by filling their food bowls and giving them the comfort of a full belly. And the Rescue Bank, a pet food distribution initiative developed by Greater Good Charities, has been keeping hungry bellies full for over a decade. To date, the Rescue Bank has delivered over 275 million meals to shelters and rescues across the country. And with your help, we can make that number grow by funding more of these much-needed donations to shelters and rescues.
HOPE Spay Neuter Clinic said, “Rescue Bank has been an invaluable resource for us. The people your donations help are low-income, and the animals they feed are stray/feral.”
Raylan found DeeDee and the HOPE Spay Neuter Clinic thanks to the connection Rescue Bank helped forge between the clinic and the kind woman who cared for the feral colony. As one of their food drop recipients, the woman knew just who to call to help Raylan. Feral cats are often forgotten, but thanks to Rescue Bank and cat lovers like those at HOPE, community cats don’t have to worry over where their next meals will come from.
As DeeDee reminds us all, “Feral cats didn’t ask to live this life. We, as man, domesticated them, and therefore. are responsible for them.”
Feature Image: HOPE Spay Neuter Clinic