Dallas … a really big city or a really big cat? Both! Dallas, the cat, came to the humane society in late December of 2015 because his family could no longer care for him. He brought with him some medical challenges which we addressed. While waiting for his new home he developed an upper respiratory infection (URI). URIs are not unusual in shelter cats as the disease is highly contagious and it can be difficult to completely sequester sick cats from healthy ones when large numbers of animals must be housed in close proximity. This beautiful, snowy-white senior boy was friendly and loving but wasn’t responding well to medications to treat his URI. Meanwhile, Dallas had a new family awaiting his release. And waiting … and waiting.
Shelter veterinarian Dr. Lindsay Gehring took
Dallas home with as a foster to see if his recovery would improve outside of
the shelter environment. This is where Dallas blossomed. Most animals take their
stay in a shelter in stride but a few find it distressing. It seemed Dallas was
one of the latter. Finally free of his health concerns, Dallas was able to go to
his new, furever home.
Jennifer and Mike Joseph adopted Dallas in February
where, in typical cat fashion, he took over the house. When we called the
Josephs to see how Dallas was doing, Jennifer responded, “He’s doing just great!
He’s laying here beside me on ‘his’ couch, curled up in ‘his’ blanket – one that
I was crocheting but he claimed for himself.” Clearly, Dallas has made himself a
mini emperor in his new domain. But that’s just fine with the Josephs. They
adore him and say he was worth the wait!
Can you help a sick cat? As summer approaches
the humane society will receive more and more cats. Some of these will have
upper respiratory infections. Sending these cats to a foster home with their
medications dramatically speeds up their recovery time. While the disease is infectious,
cats can be sequestered in a spare room to protect a family’s pets. Treatment
for URIs generally lasts 10 days to two weeks. The humane society will provide
for all of the cat’s needs during this time – medications, food, crate,
litter.
If you are willing and able to help please call
the shelter at 620.221.1698 or message us on Facebook!
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