Felix the Cat

Back in the days of remodeling our apartments another cat showed up.  This cat was very friendly so obviously he was not one of Jacks' cats.  But this cat was and is to this day the most pitiful I have seen yet. 

He laid curled up in a ball on an outside mat.  It was getting pretty cold out.  We pulled up to work and saw him and I thought, "Oh no, not another one!".  Yes, it was another cat.  They just never seemed to end there. 

The skinny, short haired black and white cat stood up to greet us and let me first say he was as thin as any we had seen.  But worse, his mouth looked like it had been burned and his eyes were matted half shut and watery.  Of course we fed him.  Oddly, he ate well, even with his mouth appearing burned. 

When he was finished eating I had my husband hold him upside down like a baby, wrapped in a towel so he couldn't scratch us.  I took a damp cloth and cleaned his eyes.  All he did was purr.  He never fought us once. 

We had our very first load of cans by then.  I cashed them in and took Felix to the vet.  He tolerated the worst test very well.  They checked him for feline leukemia by inserting a long needle into his groin area.  I nearly passed out but Felix didn't fight, just purred. 

That test was negative.  They performed more tests and finally got a diagnosis for Felix.  He had viral herpes, not contagious to humans but contagious to cats.  Therefore, I couldn't take him home.  And his mouth was not burned.  The herpes outbreaks had scarred it was all.  They said the less he was stressed, the less outbreaks he would probably en dour.

I decided to have him neutered anyways in hopes of finding him a home with no other cats.  Even though Buttons lived at the apartments now, I could take Felix back there if I had to.  Buttons had already been exposed to him anyways.  But at the last moment, we found Felix a home! 

The couple had two children and no other pets.  One child was a baby.  Felix couldn't stay indoors because he kept getting in the crib with the baby and it worried the Mother.  But they fixed him up a carrier under an awning with warm blankets, food, water and even his litter box so he didn't have to potty in the snow. 

Felix had a good supply of drops in case of another outbreak.  They cleared up his eyes quickly.  And he always let them treat him without a fuss.  Felix seemed very grateful. 

Unfortunately they moved and I didn't keep track of Felix but they said they were taking him and not to worry.  But I left the door open for Felix by making it clear if they ever had to give him up, call me. 

I never thought to get a picture of Felix because I never thought we would get this far with our Cans For Critters. 

The cans we cashed in for Felix went a long way in providing treatment, neuter, rabies shot and medicine.  Again, we thank our can contributors so very much!