Duke's Veterinary Treatment & Care
Donation protected
Expenses have NOT been updated since 03/23, but will be SOON!
UPDATE | EXPENSES:
Here is the breakdown of expenses:
$1,761.86 - current vet total (as of 03/23/13)
$ 525.92 - supplies & Rx food
$ 85.24 "“ compounded Rx
$ 20.00 "“ shelter redemption fee
------------
$2,393.02 "“ current running total of expenses (as of 03/23)
Because this was completely unexpected, we are asking for any help you can afford. Even $5 will even go a long way. It all adds up! THANK YOU for your help and for being Duke's cheering section!
THE STORY:
[PHOTOS: Top - 2005 | Bottom - 2013]
Back in 2005, my husband and I briefly had a young Bengal cat named Duke. He was placed in a permanent home after ours, and was thriving as of 2006 - our last contact with the happy owners. A few weeks ago (02/23/13), we received a shocking call that Duke had been brought into the Inland Valley Humane Society & S.P.C.A in terrible condition. Turns out, the adoptive couple had broken up, and along the way Duke became a street kitty. We were floored to discover that he had been out fending for himself for three years! The shelter staff, understandably, thought he might have been at death's door. If it weren't for the microchip still bearing our contact information, Duke would most likely have been put down!
Immediately after we pulled him from the shelter, Duke received a veterinary exam, and was diagnosed with an unprecedented infestation of mites (mange), open wounds/infection, diarrhea, and malnutrition. (He weighed around 7 pounds, which just over 1/2 of his normal body weight.) He received all appropriate treatments for those conditions, within our limited budget, including getting him started on Rx food. He began eating on his own, without an appetite stimulant.
Two days into this, once we realized that we might have a successful fundraising campaign, we were able to order the full blood and urine panel. The good news is that he did not contract any feline viruses. The iffy/bad news is that his white blood cell count was high, and that he had pancreatitis. As of 03/10, he had not yet started to gain weight, but his skin was beginning to heal, complete with new fur growth.
On 03/03, a fecal lab panel came back parasite-free. On 03/04, Duke received an abdominal ultrasound. It was determined that he either has low-grade lymphoma (not good) or severe IBD (not great, but treatable) or an uncommon parasite called tritrichomonas foetus. The only way to get a definitive diagnosis for lymphoma would be to do exploratory surgery in the thousands of dollars. Even if we could afford it, his little body is not well enough to tolerate it. So, we treated for IBD for ten days, then switched to treatment for "tritrich," and begain seeing some real signs of improvement. As of 03/10, he began to produce formed stools, and that continued for about a week, then went back to the loose version. On 03/23, Duke got a follow-up exam and new blood work (will update when report back). From 03/10 to 03/23, Duke gained over a pound! He weighed in at 8.5 lbs. If it weren't for the ongoing G.I. issues, we bet he would have gained more. Duke was taken off antibiotics (enough is enough!) and put on probiotics as of 03/23. Now: We wait for more weight gain and signs of true recovery.
Duke moved to our home on 03/10, where he has a luxuriously comfortable "kitty condo." The transition went smoothly - including his introduction to Kima, the dog - and he seems to be getting better every day. He is comfy and receiving love and attention.
Donated funds will go toward all expenses mentioned above, plus continued rehabilitative care. If he makes it, he'll need regular blood tests, vaccines, a dental exam, and other veterinary attention. Should we raise more funds than Duke needs, the extra money will be donated back to Bengal Rescue Network, who made a generous donation toward Duke's veterinary hospital stay.
Duke is peppy and vocal and very, very loving. As you can see from the top two photos, under all of the scrapes and scabs, he is a beautiful cat with a lot of life to live!
We will continually update Duke's followers with his progress.
We have a "Public" Group on Facebook called "Duke's Friendatorium:"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/465984803469409/
There's also a "Public" Photo Album on Facebook (you do not have to be a member of Facebook to view):
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151757163778625.1073741825.560688624&type=1&l=65fd7b7b42
Thank you so much for your love and support!
UPDATE | EXPENSES:
Here is the breakdown of expenses:
$1,761.86 - current vet total (as of 03/23/13)
$ 525.92 - supplies & Rx food
$ 85.24 "“ compounded Rx
$ 20.00 "“ shelter redemption fee
------------
$2,393.02 "“ current running total of expenses (as of 03/23)
Because this was completely unexpected, we are asking for any help you can afford. Even $5 will even go a long way. It all adds up! THANK YOU for your help and for being Duke's cheering section!
THE STORY:
[PHOTOS: Top - 2005 | Bottom - 2013]
Back in 2005, my husband and I briefly had a young Bengal cat named Duke. He was placed in a permanent home after ours, and was thriving as of 2006 - our last contact with the happy owners. A few weeks ago (02/23/13), we received a shocking call that Duke had been brought into the Inland Valley Humane Society & S.P.C.A in terrible condition. Turns out, the adoptive couple had broken up, and along the way Duke became a street kitty. We were floored to discover that he had been out fending for himself for three years! The shelter staff, understandably, thought he might have been at death's door. If it weren't for the microchip still bearing our contact information, Duke would most likely have been put down!
Immediately after we pulled him from the shelter, Duke received a veterinary exam, and was diagnosed with an unprecedented infestation of mites (mange), open wounds/infection, diarrhea, and malnutrition. (He weighed around 7 pounds, which just over 1/2 of his normal body weight.) He received all appropriate treatments for those conditions, within our limited budget, including getting him started on Rx food. He began eating on his own, without an appetite stimulant.
Two days into this, once we realized that we might have a successful fundraising campaign, we were able to order the full blood and urine panel. The good news is that he did not contract any feline viruses. The iffy/bad news is that his white blood cell count was high, and that he had pancreatitis. As of 03/10, he had not yet started to gain weight, but his skin was beginning to heal, complete with new fur growth.
On 03/03, a fecal lab panel came back parasite-free. On 03/04, Duke received an abdominal ultrasound. It was determined that he either has low-grade lymphoma (not good) or severe IBD (not great, but treatable) or an uncommon parasite called tritrichomonas foetus. The only way to get a definitive diagnosis for lymphoma would be to do exploratory surgery in the thousands of dollars. Even if we could afford it, his little body is not well enough to tolerate it. So, we treated for IBD for ten days, then switched to treatment for "tritrich," and begain seeing some real signs of improvement. As of 03/10, he began to produce formed stools, and that continued for about a week, then went back to the loose version. On 03/23, Duke got a follow-up exam and new blood work (will update when report back). From 03/10 to 03/23, Duke gained over a pound! He weighed in at 8.5 lbs. If it weren't for the ongoing G.I. issues, we bet he would have gained more. Duke was taken off antibiotics (enough is enough!) and put on probiotics as of 03/23. Now: We wait for more weight gain and signs of true recovery.
Duke moved to our home on 03/10, where he has a luxuriously comfortable "kitty condo." The transition went smoothly - including his introduction to Kima, the dog - and he seems to be getting better every day. He is comfy and receiving love and attention.
Donated funds will go toward all expenses mentioned above, plus continued rehabilitative care. If he makes it, he'll need regular blood tests, vaccines, a dental exam, and other veterinary attention. Should we raise more funds than Duke needs, the extra money will be donated back to Bengal Rescue Network, who made a generous donation toward Duke's veterinary hospital stay.
Duke is peppy and vocal and very, very loving. As you can see from the top two photos, under all of the scrapes and scabs, he is a beautiful cat with a lot of life to live!
We will continually update Duke's followers with his progress.
We have a "Public" Group on Facebook called "Duke's Friendatorium:"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/465984803469409/
There's also a "Public" Photo Album on Facebook (you do not have to be a member of Facebook to view):
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151757163778625.1073741825.560688624&type=1&l=65fd7b7b42
Thank you so much for your love and support!
Organizer
Elizabeth Carlton Chase
Organizer
Monrovia, CA
