A Good Samaritan first saw Boots flying across a driveway from the force of a basketball hurled at him by a neighbor trying to protect her own cat’s food from this hungry stray. When he landed, he lay warily under a bush, meowing ever so softly for help. She picked him up, took him home, and called him Boots. He purred and settled onto her lap and over time gained weight, grew stronger, and savored his
safety. Then he stopped eating. His caretaker suspected depression and tried to entice him to eat. By the time she reached out to Silver Rescue, help, Boots was thinner and frailer than he had been when first rescued.
When we met him, we knew he was a sick boy. His skull and spine protruded from his thin body but his belly was severely distended. He tested negative for FIV and feline leukemia but was found to be severely anemic. An appetite stimulant helped him regain weight but his red blood count continued to plummet. X-rays revealed a shockingly enlarged spleen and a little body riddled with birdshot. The birdshot was not a health problem but the enlarged spleen spelled trouble: either cancer or an effort by his body to rid itself of unhealthy blood cells. Leaving it was a death sentence; removing it might save his life. A normal feline spleen is nickel to quarter-sized. The surgery revealed a spleen the size of a fist, and the lab report came back with the verdict: lymphoma.
Boots is recovering well from surgery, eating and gaining weight without appetite stimulants. We play a waiting game, watching for swelling in his neck or legs, which will indicate lymph node involvement. Soon we will introduce him to the other cats so he can begin to enjoy the safe, well-fed life of a house cat for whatever time he has left.
Boots’ vet bill is nearly $900.00. May we count on you to help us? If 900 of our 3000 newsletter readers each send a dollar, we can pay this expense in no time. Will you help us?
Please make your donations via -
-PayPal.com to [email protected]
-Call or send in your donation to - Grassmere Animal Hospital – 615-832-6535
3926 Nolensville Rd, Nashville, TN 37211
-Snail Mail to – Silver Rescue, P. O. Box 111888, Nashville, TN 37222
Thank you so very much!
Boots and Karina
safety. Then he stopped eating. His caretaker suspected depression and tried to entice him to eat. By the time she reached out to Silver Rescue, help, Boots was thinner and frailer than he had been when first rescued.
When we met him, we knew he was a sick boy. His skull and spine protruded from his thin body but his belly was severely distended. He tested negative for FIV and feline leukemia but was found to be severely anemic. An appetite stimulant helped him regain weight but his red blood count continued to plummet. X-rays revealed a shockingly enlarged spleen and a little body riddled with birdshot. The birdshot was not a health problem but the enlarged spleen spelled trouble: either cancer or an effort by his body to rid itself of unhealthy blood cells. Leaving it was a death sentence; removing it might save his life. A normal feline spleen is nickel to quarter-sized. The surgery revealed a spleen the size of a fist, and the lab report came back with the verdict: lymphoma.
Boots is recovering well from surgery, eating and gaining weight without appetite stimulants. We play a waiting game, watching for swelling in his neck or legs, which will indicate lymph node involvement. Soon we will introduce him to the other cats so he can begin to enjoy the safe, well-fed life of a house cat for whatever time he has left.
Boots’ vet bill is nearly $900.00. May we count on you to help us? If 900 of our 3000 newsletter readers each send a dollar, we can pay this expense in no time. Will you help us?
Please make your donations via -
-PayPal.com to [email protected]
-Call or send in your donation to - Grassmere Animal Hospital – 615-832-6535
3926 Nolensville Rd, Nashville, TN 37211
-Snail Mail to – Silver Rescue, P. O. Box 111888, Nashville, TN 37222
Thank you so very much!
Boots and Karina
