A few weeks ago a woman in Baltimore contacted House With a Heart with an urgent request to accept a feral cat that she had taken into her house. The other feral cats in the colony were bullying him, and he seemed to be in bad physical shape. Among other issues, he was missing most of his teeth and had a swollen belly and vomiting. The vet that the woman took him to estimated that he was 12 years old. The rescuer took care of him in her home for about a month but could not keep him permanently.
On March 23 HWAH volunteers Mark and Pat Freedman drove to Baltimore to pick up Buddy. He seemed terrified on the hour-long ride back to HWAH, and for the first few days in his new space at HWAH he hid when anyone came in the room.
He also sounded terrible, with congested, raspy breathing. But he gradually became braver and affectionate, and his breathing cleared up after a course of antibiotics. His belly is normal now, he has not been vomiting, and he has a great appetite (though he can only eat canned food because of his missing teeth).
Our vet saw an abnormality in the blood-work that may indicate a heart problem, and so Buddy will get an ultrasound to diagnose it. Hopefully it will be something treatable with medication, and we will be able to give Buddy a happy home in his senior years.
if you would like to make a donation or sponsor buddy, follow this link: Sponsor Buddy the Cat