Sunday April 3rd, 2016
On the way to the church that I was introduced to attend services, I spotted a small blanket laying on the sidewalk of the street. The blanket lifted itself when driving right by it, a thought popped up in my head. 'There may be something alive under the blanket'. I pulled over the car to the side of the road to go check if any small pet wounded, covered with a blanket to be abandoned.
The small blanket, turned out to be a heavily injured cat. It didn't look conscious as it wasn't moving covered in dirt and blood. But still alive. I couldn't touch the cat and I was late for the service that I was going to attend again in several years.
Two ladies in the neighborhood came close to us. One of them told me that this dying cat was friendly and he didn't run away when she got close to feed the cat. And told he even let her pat on. Told me it wasn't that long ago when she spotted him first time in the area.
That moment, it screamed in pain trying to lift its head in vain, and laid flat again... I couldn't leave it to die out at the street. Not when I spotted like this.
Suddenly, the cat started to pant heavily and cried for help.
I brought my coat from the car. I asked one of the ladies if she could move the cat from the sidewalk to my coat so that I could take him with me. To take care of him as my own. I didn't think it would be any longer than a day or two that he would be my cat due to the severe injuries that he seemed to be under.
With him on my coat, I was able to lift him from the street to move to the car. The first thought popped in my head was to take the cat to a vet clinic right away, in case he may have a chance to make it. Even if I didn't think it could make, maybe several days most. Still, I was going to gather every possible means to treat the cat, to take care of, and to find a forever-home for.
I believed that's what every sentient being deserved.
I dropped by the church briefly, to let them know I was keeping my promise to make it to the service on the day but I could not stay because I had a severely injured cat in my car needing treatment right away.
I drove around to find any vet clinic might be open on the day, but I couldn't.
I went back to the church to say hello as I promised I would return to. Shortly after that, I had to go home to leave the cat in my place and to go to teach the afternoon class.
Came back home after that was done,I had this strange feeling on the site that the cat was still alive, not knowing what to do at all. With very little money available so that I couldn't even try the expensive 24 hours open clinic far away from where I lived...
I cleaned my place as every Sunday I did. I don't know how to explain how it felt when the cat screamed and cried asking for my presence when I was out of his sight over 30 minutes cleaning the bathroom. I said loudly so that the cat could hear, 'Alright, I'll be there soon, just a moment!' and his cry responded to be lessened. I quickly finished cleaning the bathroom and moved to the living room space where I placed him to rest. And some paperwork before going to bed.
All night, I couldn't fall asleep. I lifted my head to turn to check the cat every a few hours, as I could hear his heavy panting through the night that got soften around dawn, when I could finally fall asleep.
April 4th, Monday
When I woke up the following morning....I could hear no panting. With my eyes still closed, thinking that the cat died while I was sleeping, I talked to myself, ' Oh my God, I have a dead cat in my place. What should I do.'
I lifted my head to turn to the left at the cat, I saw the cat's head was up looking at me quietly. At the sight of him doing so, I jumped out of the bed feeling a bit stunned. The first thought was to change my clothes to take him to a vet. It was still a couple of hours to the time that any vet clinic in the area would be open. I couldn't know what could be the most swift order to do the morning chores and to take the cat to the vet on the hour it would open. I followed the order of prayers and morning chores and took the cat to a vet.
The only vet I knew in the area was the vet that the kill-shelter introduced to treat Tobia. With all the drama that the lady adopted Tobia pulled at the vet, he was very cold and he refused to treat Sasha even if I had made all the payments I had owed him for having treated Tobia in a week or so after the incident, and even if I promised the payment for the cat as well. I apologized for the hassle of visiting him with another stray pet and left the clinic.
And took him to another vet in the area. I explained the vet how much I was able to make the payment initially and I'd pay the rest later and he was kind to treat him on my promise to make the payment for treating the cat.
After x-rays, blood test, and exams on Sasha, we found out Sasha was a male cat with one of his hip bones broken into 3 pieces, with heavy bruises around his lower torso area including part of his tail. However, all the other bones were fine, internal organs in lower torso area were crushed but not severely damaged, and negative on viral diseases. He was so skinny and exhausted and it was hard to find his vein to get blood for the test. Also, there was not enough blood pressure and the vet couldn't get enough blood for the test. The vet injected four different spots to get the amount of blood he needed for the test. During the tests and blood sampling, Sasha looked almost unconscious and quiet.
He advised me that all the minor health issues on his skin,ticks,or cleaning him off, should wait until he will have recovered from the car accident that looked to have caused the injuries. He also told me that the blood in his urine and his poops are common symptoms on the animals or even on humans who underwent car accident. And for Sasha, it's not critically heavy and could naturally heal.
While Sasha was on an IV for the day, I went to work knowing that I had to pick him up when the clinic closed around at 7 in the evening, to take care of him at home during the night.
April 5th, Tuesday and the following day
I woke up early. I had to finish morning chores quickly to take Sasha to the vet clinic for the IV before I went to work. I left Sasha at the vet clinic to put him on the IV all day, and I picked him up from the clinic when it was time to close, to take care of him back at home through the night.
And Wednesday as well. For these three days, Sasha wouldn't eat nor drink. He pooped very tiny but there was no more blood on his poop on the third day. He peed once everyday.
The biggest problem was him not eating. The vet told me there's no point keeping him alive on IV if he refused to eat nor to live. Suggested to force him to eat if I wanted him to live and stop putting him on an IV...
That day, I came home with Sasha, and some wet food.
I spent an hour to make him eat three small pea size bites. And he gave me lots of scratches on my both hands.
I also got samples of different kind of kibbles to find out which kibbles he may like most.
I was able to make him eat a little bit more of wet food, but not the kibbles, nor water.
April 7th, Thursday
On the forth day, there was no blood in his pee.
I was able to make him voluntarily swallow some more wet food than the amount he ate the other day. Like a half can of tuna with the essential minerals and vitamins. He didn't want the dry food nor water.
Even if he was badly injured, he got himself up to enter the litter box that I placed right near his bed I made for him, to pee on his own. Though I had to removed it for the vet advised that the cat must not move until the bones get healed. With this instruction, began the 13 weeks of changing his bed sheets that I made with my coats and extra blankets, and of doing laundry two to three times a day.
Each time he went toilet to pee or poop, I changed his sheets to new ones.
April 8th, Friday
In the morning, I presented him a small plate with kibbles on, again like yesterday. Amazingly, he voluntarily ate about a dozen of kibbles. First time since I picked him up from the street. He also drank a little bit of water on his own, for the first time.
I took him to a vet for IV again and told the vet how Sasha's been responding and improving.
Sasha was under IV again for the day and a friend of mine from Seoul, made a trip to see how Sasha was doing and paid part of Sasha's vet bill. And he wanted us to pray for Sasha so I did...
The vet told me that his clinic closes on Sundays and it's better to not put him on an IV again if he started eating. Told me TLC could do a lot more than I could imagine. I insisted to put him on an IV one more day.
April 9th, Saturday
The last day on IV. It felt miraculous to watch how he was recovering from the car accident. Sasha was left under my wings alone from the evening of the day. The fact, that I grew up in the family that pets were not allowed, where cats were considered to be somewhat you know... in the culture I came from, and the fact that I never ever had any cat to be near me even... not to mention the first cat ever I touched for 45 years, was this cat I named Sasha... he needed lots luck to make it from there I think...
