Thomas is a star

Thomas is actually more of a poster child, but wait - does that make me Jerry Lewis?   I am thrilled that Sir Thomas and I could help.
http://cattime.com/all-about-animals-rescue-organization.html

He does seem to be doing better.  He has more pep and seems more motivated, although I think that it is the high calorie canned cat food that is fueling his drive.  I don't care what it is, I am glad he feeling more energetic.  

Please pass this blog along to your friends or just the animal lover in your life.  I would love to see All About Animals receive more donations to help Thomas and animals like this sweet boy. 

Spooky dogs photos

These are pictures from open house from Deer Creek Animal Hospital ( http://www.deercreekah.net/ ).

I believe in unicorns now...do you?

Sir Thomas of Purralot.

   I have not wanted to blog as Thomas has not been doing as well as I had hoped.  He is still not gaining weight and the vets are baffled by the lack of clues from the blood work up they did.  I am sure the vets, and Dawn are as frustrated as me.  They thought his issue might be hyper-thyroid,  he is fine.  They then tested for Valley Fever - nope.  They are just at a loss about what to do about him, and it might very well be cancer.
   He is still Sir Thomas of Purralot (okay, yes, the title seems to be getting longer - but very appropriate), and purrs if you look at him.   Still loves to put the top of his head in my hand and just hang out like that.  His favorite, however, is putting his entire head under my chin and falling asleep.  I can tell when he drops off to dreamland because then, and only then, does he stop purring.

  I went today to pick up more Amoxi, and some canned food at Deer Creek Vet Clinic and...WOW, it was an open house.  Such cute kitties and puppies dressed in Halloween outfits (I was giddy over all the adorable babies - photos to come).  The  high calorie canned food was a big hit, with the entire household.  It is VERY strong smelling and brought the other cats out from their individual sleeping areas to suggest in loud pleading voices that it should be food I set down for them.  They were very unhappy, when I walked passed them (they never gave up hope though) and walked into Thomas's room.  He was very happy with the choice and began eating it before I could get it to the floor.  Good kitty, eat.  Okay got to go clean litter boxes.

A trip to the vet

Well one of my concerns about Sir Thomas is true,  He has gained no weight.  With the amount of food that is being given to this sweet boy, he should be about 50 pounds now.  He went for a day of "once overs" at the vet.  Deek Creek Vet Clinic supports All About Animals and is just an all around impressive vet facility.  I tried to convince him that he was going to a day at the spa, but somehow I think that attempt failed.  In his sweet way, though, he simply purred off his worries. 
I am sure he was poked and stuck and prodded ( as I had parent/teacher conferences - I felt the same happened to me : >).

 Not much information until his blood work comes back.  Here are some early thoughts from the vet, passed through the AAA guru, Dawn.  Perhaps thyroid issues, which actually would be a positive and easy to help.  In addition, the eye problem is most likely neurological and permanent.   My favorite comment, because it is so true, was they tried to get a heart rate but couldn't because they couldn't stop him from purring.  No matter what, he is a purrrrring machine. 

AAA supports Thomas and if you would like to make a donation to them to help support Thomas and other cats like him here is the link - http://allaboutanimalsaz.com/Donate.aspx 
Please pass along this blog, I would like to see more people following his long road to health and happiness.

Thomas - 2 weeks with me.

   He is getting stronger and is happy.  I think he is better, but I plan on taking him to the vet on Friday.  I need to drop him off so he doesn't take up a room and then pick him up later...no problem.  I hope they do a complete blood work up on him so I will stop worrying so much.  Tonight he was on my lap and climbed up on the chair and jumped off the back.  FREAKED ME OUT when I heard this THUD.  He would not have even attempted that three days ago, so perhaps he is feeling more confident - but might break a leg in the process.
He also got another bath this weekend.  Because he isn't grooming he gets dirty and stinky quickly.  I am hoping that keeping him clean will help him start feeling better and encourage grooming. Until I bath him I sometimes forget how horribly skinny he is.

Still very much a cat - hates the water.

Sweet, sweet boy.

Yummy dinner

Snuggled up after his bath.

Finally dry and waiting to be brushed.

The weekend came and went with my concern for Thomas growing.  He just doesn't seem to be getting weight on his bones.  I am not sure how weight comes back on emaciated people/ dogs/ cats.  He has very little muscle left and I wonder if fat gets added back from the places it was depleted from last.  Anyone know?    The big mystery as to why he became this 5 pound cat might have been answered.  I truly believe that his left eye sight is limited or he is blind.  His pupil does not have any light response which might account for his inability to take care of himself.  Well, he has a vet appointment sometime this week, when I can get out of Parent/Teacher conferences to take him...might be Friday afternoon.

Thomas - a week gone by.

Thomas is getting stronger daily. He can now stand up for much longer than before (he has very little muscle).  He is the sweetest thing and never stops purring.  It is amazing to me that he was so neglected and so mistreated and still can be so lovely.  I imagine he has had a family before and has been loved.

Chloe (she is the feline activity director for my house) is dying to meet and greet him and I have no doubt she will be a momma type to him.  She tries to sneak into the room when I go in to take care of him.  She is a golden retriever of the cat world and does not meet a stranger.  Those who have met her would tell you the same.  She will certainly be the first one he meets.

I have discontinued hanging fluids for him and he is now staying hydrated by drinking.  I am so happy about this, I hated sticking him in the neck twice a day.

Thomas's day of sleep

Thomas is lethargic today so he has had a day of  laying about and sleeping.  I snuggled him and let him be.  I did take photos of the others...

Thomas expands his horizon. 10/10

Yeah for the weekend and lots of time to play with the kitties.  He was so curious about stuff, which I think means he is feeling better.  He took 2 different naps on my chest and discovered the kitty tree.

Thomas - dirty cat

Thomas Cat continues to improve and eat.  He is staying hydrated without as much intervention from me (aka the bag of hung fluids in my kitchen).  He is getting rather comfortable in his surroundings and today decided to sharped his claws on the cat toy (gooood boy).

He also got a bath.  He has probably had two or three baths in the last week, but he is just dirty and smelly and needed another.  I really had been concerned about letting him get chilly so he got wrapped up in warm towels from the dryer after the traumatic bath experience.  Actually, he was very good.

My other fur kids are very interested in him, but they will just need to wait before they meet him.

Fostering Thomas

Being a teacher is a wonderful thing.  I still love it after all these years.  One of the not so wonderful things is naming children or animals.  It seems that no matter how perfect a name seems, a teacher always knows a naughty child that has ruined the name for them. This was the case with the name he came with - Alex.  The wonderful person that found him stumbling down the street named him along with her kids.  My understanding is that thesed empathetic and wonderful children decided that Alex could be a boy's name or a girl's name and they were not sure if which sex he was.  I have had several male and female students named Alex who's nicknames should have been trouble.  So I set off to rename this cat something fitting and decided on Thomas.  He is a rather regal cat, even behind the shabby coat, broken ear and 10 lbs underweight.  Thomas just seemed to fit him so well.  Not Tommy or Tom, but the formal Thomas. 

He is such a sweet darling cat.  See the video below.
Thomas Cat

Foster Kitty enters the picture.

I am mad. I can not believe the state of the kitty being posted by my friend on facebook. Nothing should look like this.  I feel torn about not wanting to get involved and not being able to stand by and let him go.  Shelters are so full of kittens right now, that I would imagine he would not be accepted or they would take him and put him down.  I offer to take him...I am one mad momma bear about this.
The main concern is he must test negative for all the fatal kitty diseases, which he does and so I picked him up Wednesday night and begin his long road back.  He is such a sweetheart and just purrs even when I am putting a needle in his neck to give him fluids.  That is, in my mind, the one possibily critical thing that could go wrong - he could get dehydrated very easily.  So far he is eating, and drinking (some) and pooping and peeing.   He also has a strong will to live.  Thank you to all the people that played a role in this...You are angels.

If you ever want to donate money toward his care, or any of the others, please contact the organization that is making this possible for him. http://allaboutanimalsaz.com/default.aspx  More tomorrow.