Erin
May. 4, 2008, 10:51 AM
Meet Charlie Brown:
http://www.charmcitycats.org/adopt/IMG_0300.jpg
Charlie is quite a lucky guy, in a roundabout way. He was picked up by Baltimore City Animal Control a week or two ago -- since he is ear-tipped, so they assumed he was feral. There's a city ordinance that says any ear-tipped feral cat that's part of a managed colony should basically be left alone, so when AC picks one up, they call one of the local TNR groups to come get the cat and take it back to where they found it. Since I live a few blocks from the city shelter, I get "volunteered" for this job frequently. ;)
I picked Mr. Charlie up, brought him home and put him in a crate. Thought to myself, "He doesn't seem feral..." Stuck my hand in the crate, and he rushed right over for some ear scritches, and practically fell over he was so happy. OK, so much for putting Mr. Charlie back with his colony... he would very much like to be an indoor cat again!
So I took Charlie to my regular vet for a checkup. Here's where things get interesting. :rolleyes:
Most stray cats are 4-5 years old, max. (They don't last very long out there, unfortunately. :( ) Charlie is 10 or 12. I figure he was probably a pet for most of that time, and just got dumped or "lost" recently.
Charlie is also FIV+, which is not a surprise. (Many, if not most, stray tomcats are.) FIV is not a big deal, but is probably a contributing factor to the fact that...
Charlie has MAJOR dental problems. He has 3-4 teeth that should probably be pulled. One of his canines is infected and so has "dropped down" a bit, and has caused a big sore where it meets his lower lip.
Charlie ALSO has a heart murmur. (It was about at this point in the exam that my vet started laughing and saying "Man, I'm sorry!") This could be due to hyperthyroidism, which can be treated with medication. Or it could be due to some underlying heart problem, which would require a trip to a cardiologist to diagnose.
So, poor Charlie has some issues! Right now, we've just got him on some antibiotics to see if that helps the dental situation. If not, he needs a cleaning and extractions, which will be about $600-700. :p I'll get that done if he needs it... although if a potential adopter wants to chip in for part of it, that would be lovely. :D He'll have blood work done before he has the dental surgery, and that should indicate if he is hyperthyroid or not. If so, the hyperthyroid meds are not expensive... about $20 a month. If not... a cardiologist IS expensive. But he's made it this long with the murmur, so personally I'd probably opt for blissful ignorance in that case. ;)
Despite all this, Charlie is SUPER sweet. He's a very quiet, calm guy, and has this raspy, tiny little meow that you can barely hear. He loves to sit in laps. He's an older guy who's had a rough time of it, and he would love to just have someone to snuggle with and take care of him in his senior years.
Although he does have some medical issues, I don't expect anyone to spend tons of money on him... I, and he, would be perfectly happy if someone could just give him love and keep him comfortable. Obviously he'd do much better with even the most basic care as an inside cat, than he was doing on the street. He would be great for a younger person who is in a situation to have a cat now but doesn't know what the future will bring, or an older person.
He is a little on the shy side, but very friendly and cuddly once he gets to know you. I don't know how he is with other cats yet, but he's definitely not a dominant/aggressive type. He was already neutered, and has had his shots updated.
When I realized he was friendly, I initially thought I could just put him with a rescue to place... but, obviously, given his age, no rescue is going to take him. :( So I really hope some kind COTHer might have room for this older gentleman. I can guarantee he is very appreciative, despite his sometimes dour-looking expression!
http://www.charmcitycats.org/adopt/IMG_0305.jpg
http://www.charmcitycats.org/adopt/IMG_0300.jpg
Charlie is quite a lucky guy, in a roundabout way. He was picked up by Baltimore City Animal Control a week or two ago -- since he is ear-tipped, so they assumed he was feral. There's a city ordinance that says any ear-tipped feral cat that's part of a managed colony should basically be left alone, so when AC picks one up, they call one of the local TNR groups to come get the cat and take it back to where they found it. Since I live a few blocks from the city shelter, I get "volunteered" for this job frequently. ;)
I picked Mr. Charlie up, brought him home and put him in a crate. Thought to myself, "He doesn't seem feral..." Stuck my hand in the crate, and he rushed right over for some ear scritches, and practically fell over he was so happy. OK, so much for putting Mr. Charlie back with his colony... he would very much like to be an indoor cat again!
So I took Charlie to my regular vet for a checkup. Here's where things get interesting. :rolleyes:
Most stray cats are 4-5 years old, max. (They don't last very long out there, unfortunately. :( ) Charlie is 10 or 12. I figure he was probably a pet for most of that time, and just got dumped or "lost" recently.
Charlie is also FIV+, which is not a surprise. (Many, if not most, stray tomcats are.) FIV is not a big deal, but is probably a contributing factor to the fact that...
Charlie has MAJOR dental problems. He has 3-4 teeth that should probably be pulled. One of his canines is infected and so has "dropped down" a bit, and has caused a big sore where it meets his lower lip.
Charlie ALSO has a heart murmur. (It was about at this point in the exam that my vet started laughing and saying "Man, I'm sorry!") This could be due to hyperthyroidism, which can be treated with medication. Or it could be due to some underlying heart problem, which would require a trip to a cardiologist to diagnose.
So, poor Charlie has some issues! Right now, we've just got him on some antibiotics to see if that helps the dental situation. If not, he needs a cleaning and extractions, which will be about $600-700. :p I'll get that done if he needs it... although if a potential adopter wants to chip in for part of it, that would be lovely. :D He'll have blood work done before he has the dental surgery, and that should indicate if he is hyperthyroid or not. If so, the hyperthyroid meds are not expensive... about $20 a month. If not... a cardiologist IS expensive. But he's made it this long with the murmur, so personally I'd probably opt for blissful ignorance in that case. ;)
Despite all this, Charlie is SUPER sweet. He's a very quiet, calm guy, and has this raspy, tiny little meow that you can barely hear. He loves to sit in laps. He's an older guy who's had a rough time of it, and he would love to just have someone to snuggle with and take care of him in his senior years.
Although he does have some medical issues, I don't expect anyone to spend tons of money on him... I, and he, would be perfectly happy if someone could just give him love and keep him comfortable. Obviously he'd do much better with even the most basic care as an inside cat, than he was doing on the street. He would be great for a younger person who is in a situation to have a cat now but doesn't know what the future will bring, or an older person.
He is a little on the shy side, but very friendly and cuddly once he gets to know you. I don't know how he is with other cats yet, but he's definitely not a dominant/aggressive type. He was already neutered, and has had his shots updated.
When I realized he was friendly, I initially thought I could just put him with a rescue to place... but, obviously, given his age, no rescue is going to take him. :( So I really hope some kind COTHer might have room for this older gentleman. I can guarantee he is very appreciative, despite his sometimes dour-looking expression!
http://www.charmcitycats.org/adopt/IMG_0305.jpg