Hot Paws on Texas Pete
Texas Pete’s Hot Paws
This PITIFUL kitty was a feral cat in a south neighborhood in Charlotte/Waxhaw area and a good Samaritan had been trying to feed him by leaving the garage door cracked. This cat-loving and compassionate person, named Holly Zostant, needed help! Holly noticed that the skinny, beat-up feral kitty was bleeding from somewhere (?) as he was leaving bloody paw prints on her driveway and garage. Pete (Texas Pete as he was named) was limping and appeared to be injured, but because he was SO wild and skiddish, Holly could not get close enough to him to tell what was wrong. Someone suggested that Holly call FURR for help! Holly called me and I went out to assist. I was able to trap this poor kitty and take it directly to the vet for assessment. Pete did not look good!
When I explained to Holly that the bill could be extensive. I asked her if she would be willing to pay towards the medical bill or have Pete put to sleep if that hard decision had to be made. Her comment was for me to save him if I could. Dr. Jones, at Mercy Animal Hospital, in Indian Trail, did an outstanding job of anesthetizing this cat in order to observe his problems. He was too wild and fearful to be handled even under a mile sedation, and I am certain that he was in a lot of pain.
After looking the cat over, a most unusual and horrifying discovery came to surface. This kitty had huge tumor-like sores on the 
bottoms of ALL FOUR OF HIS FEET! This poor kitty was trying to survive with four painful, bloody paws! The tumors looked like round raw sores, one on each foot, about the size of a nickel! These awful bleeding sores had to have been horrible for Pete trying to survive, being in pain just walking (much less running), trying to catch food or even to try and bathe himself. That is probably why he was so thin, dirty and frightened!
It turns out that after some research, the disease that Pete had is called “Pillow Feet”, or Plasma Cell Pododermatitis which is a foot pad disease of cats. Little is known about this disease, but can usually be treated with prednisone. However, when the disease has progressed, like Pete‘s, to the point of severe pain and lameness, surgery and removal of the tumor-like sores is the only option. Pete had to undergo surgery and has been in recovery at the FURR facility for many weeks now. His prognosis is extremely good that he should be able to function as a normal cat after all is healed! During recovery at the FURR kitty lodge, Pete has gained a lot of weight, he has been able to clean himself up and he looks like a new cat!
Thanks to Holly, this cat had a fighting chance in life. If she had not cared enough to call FURR to help transport, handle and care for this kitty, he may not have been saved. Holly has a huge financial burden with the medical bill for Pete and FURR also contributed a large amount not covered by their budget. Won’t you help, PLEASE, with Pete’s expenses? He will also need more follow-up doctor visits and care, but we really need your help?
♥ Thank you for caring about Pete and contributing to a wonderful cause. ♥
See blog @ http://texaspetefurr.blogspot.com/
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