Hawaii Rescue Kitty Needs a Dental!
Donation protected
Just when I was thinking I’d have a cat-free week of vacation in Hawaii, my nephew Trevor (11) looked outside our first floor condo and said, “Hey, there’s a cat out there!” I guess I shouldn’t be surprised if there are really a reported 500,000 free-roaming cats on Maui. The medium-sized brown tabby was just sitting on the lawn in the “cat loaf” position with paws tucked underneath him. Tourists would stop by every five minutes, mostly children, and pet him. Sometimes if he had had enough, he would scratch one of them. He was already neutered, but not ear tipped, suggesting he had been someone's pet at some point.
His movements were very slow, as if he didn’t feel well. If it rained, he’d go under the deck of the hotel bar. Otherwise, he’d just be sitting in the sun on the lawn enduring the tourist children.
He wandered over to our patio in the morning seemingly looking for food. We didn’t have any cat food, so we cut up some lunch meat ham. He ate most of it slowly, but kept cocking his head to one side and opening his mouth wide, as if he were in pain. He also kept scratching the roof of his mouth. I wondered if he had been stung by a bee or had an abscessed tooth.
A visit to West Maui Animal Clinic revealed that he had advanced stomatitis, and auto immune disease that attacks the gums. It was such a severe case, that the vet saw inflammation in his throat and on his tonsils. He would have eventually stopped eating and slowly starved to death.
So I bought him a plane ticket and took him home! My nephews named him Ka'anapali after the region of Maui where we stayed. Ka'anapali will get the care he needs as soon as I can raise the money. Even $20 helps! Thank you all so much!
His movements were very slow, as if he didn’t feel well. If it rained, he’d go under the deck of the hotel bar. Otherwise, he’d just be sitting in the sun on the lawn enduring the tourist children.
He wandered over to our patio in the morning seemingly looking for food. We didn’t have any cat food, so we cut up some lunch meat ham. He ate most of it slowly, but kept cocking his head to one side and opening his mouth wide, as if he were in pain. He also kept scratching the roof of his mouth. I wondered if he had been stung by a bee or had an abscessed tooth.
A visit to West Maui Animal Clinic revealed that he had advanced stomatitis, and auto immune disease that attacks the gums. It was such a severe case, that the vet saw inflammation in his throat and on his tonsils. He would have eventually stopped eating and slowly starved to death.
So I bought him a plane ticket and took him home! My nephews named him Ka'anapali after the region of Maui where we stayed. Ka'anapali will get the care he needs as soon as I can raise the money. Even $20 helps! Thank you all so much!
Organizer
Liz Houtz
Organizer
Chicago, IL