Never Forgotten, Forever Loved

Merlin

Merlin was Nova's brother, they were adopted together by our Directors mom when she was just 3 years old, so she grew up with them. Merlin was the sweetest cat you would have ever met. He had to greet everyone who came in the house, and would go from lap to lap for pets and love, never settling for just one persons affection. He was very talkative, and would meow as he strolled about. He was a cuddler at night and would even sleep under the covers at times. He would come when he was called, and was often found following someone around the house, meowing for attention. He was the outgoing of the two, and often protected and comforted Nova, especially at times when he was ill. He was very well manned, no jumping on tables or counters, or scratching of sofas. He was just an overall good cat. When Pebbles was brought in as a little kitten, Merlin had crouched as if he was going to pounce on her. Our director was much older by this time, and immediately told Merlin, "No." and that this new kitten was a part of the family. Merlin looked at Pebbles, looked at our director, looked back to Pebbles, then looked away, got up and stalked off. He never once bothered Pebbles, even if the sassy little kitten irritated him at times. When he was 14 he became very sick and we discovered he had developed diabetes. At this time our Director had not yet entered the veterinary field, however she was insistent upon taking him to a veterinarian with somewhat of a holistic approach. His current vet had Merlin on a high dose of insulin twice a day, and prescribed a veterinary diet of dry cat food for diabetics. They never spoke of Merlin going into remission, and our Director had a bad feeling. Her persistence paid off and her mom took him into a Western and Holistic veterinarian. He immediately said to take him off dry food, even diabetic dry food. Dry food is low in protein, high in carbohydrates, addicting and overall bad for cats health. He recommended Merlin be put on a diet of cooked meats with taurine vitamins added in. (This MUST be a formulated diet by a veterinarian, do not attempt to make these diets at home without proper instruction). He helped with reducing the insulin and improving Merlins diet, and within 1 month Merlin was in remission and off insulin. It is likely a canned cat food diet of pates that are low in carbs and have proper protein levels, would have also achieved remission. Merlin was thriving, and back to his old lovey, spunky self. He was wonderful for a couple months, then a tumor was discovered at the base of his tail. The tumor was unfortunately cancerous, and as this time our director was still just a teenager, and did not have the knowledge or resources she does now. Merlin's cancer was managed for a few months before it was decided it was his time to rest. He was almost 15 then, having passed on December 3rd, 2015. He was laid to rest in the garden he was so fond of. He will be loved and missed forever.

Phantom

"I knew you were my baby when I picked you up at the pet store and you licked the top of my nose. You were always the sweetest little rat, even when you were just a tiny little baby. I loved every minute with you from training you to ride a mini skate board to just chilling around the house with you on my shoulder. You were the best little buddy I could ever have ." -Our Founder.
During her Zookeeping Degree our director had to take an Animal Training course. During the semester you were required to train a rat a trick using positive reinforcement. Phantom, from the start, was the friendliest, most well behaved rat ever. He was allowed free range of the house as he was litter trained and would come when called. He learned many tricks, most notably how to ride a mini skateboard, and loved his training sessions. He loved chin rubs, to hang out on shoulders and just be with people. When one of his lymph nodes swelled up and he got sick, our Director took him into 4 different veterinarians to try to save him. The first two told her it was mycoplasma and prescribed antibiotics. But she kept thinking more was wrong. She worked for a feline veterinarian and she would see him, she told our director it was cancer, and he needed to see an exotic vet with abilities to do more testing. After being laughed at by a reception at one hospital, and calling several others, our director found a hospital that would see rats and was able to do labwork on them. The Drs there once again told her it was mycoplasma, and sent her home with an extra antibiotic. Phantom passed the next evening while our Director was at class. Rest in Peace little Phantom, we love and miss you.

SAber

Lucette

Lucette came waltzing up the driveway of our wildlife center. Our director, being a cat lover, and previous employee at a cat hospital could tell instantly by the way that Lucette walked that she was declawed. She called her over and she came to her, and our Director scooped her up and took her inside. It was fall, the days were a perfect temperature, she put Lucette temporarily in her garage, took pictures and put up posters, and put her on all the lost pets pages and the humane societies pages online. No one ever called or inquired about her. After not being able to find an owner for 2 weeks, and Lucette showing signs of needing medical treatment, we decided due to the amount of rescues we already have, along with limited resources, that it would be best for her to go somewhere she could be treated and then adopted out. All 3 cat sanctuaries in the area have 3 month minimum wait lists. Our local Pikes Peak Humane Society is a compassionate organization known for taking care of pets and getting them medically ready for adoption. We were hopeful Lucette would do well there. We requested to remain on her last resort list in case there were any issues. Unfortunately Lucette became unhandleable and was declared unadoptable. This is likely due to her being declawed. She was going to be euthanized. To prevent this we took her back and then took her into a Veterinarian and had extensive labwork done on her. It showed nothing but early kidney disease. However, despite being negative for Utis of any kind, Lucette was peeing in places she shouldn't; on the bed, clothes, rugs. This was also likely due to her being declawed. When you declaw a cat you take away a part of who they are, many times they become insecure and anxious, and in a way to feel more secure they mark or become aggressive. She had pain in her paws, and trouble walking. She was scheduled to have an x-ray done of her paws to look for bone fragments, when she suddenly crashed. She was rushed to the ER. Unfortunately almost $1,000 in and we were tapped, and the veterinarians had absolutely no idea what was wrong. We were going to opt for euthanasia, but the veterinarian recommended we at least try an antibiotic to see if she responded. They did not think she was in any pain. We took Lucette home, and a few hours later she passed away very quietly in her sleep. After she passed the veterinarians were concerned with her having rabies, and she was submitted for testing despite our sorrow. She was negative. With our Directors further knowledge of working at an Animal ER and other ataxic symptomatic patients, it is likely Lucette suffered from something like a brain tumor or another condition that would have been very hard to correctly diagnose, and not able to be treated regardless. Lucette suffered a great mutilation by being declawed, developed behavioral issues due to it, and was then abandoned on the streets. We are glad we were able to provide her with a warm loving home in her last few months. We wish we could have done more for this little girl. We are comforted knowing wherever she is she should have her claws back.