
A Second Chance for Willie the Cat
They say cats have a way of knowing who likes them and who doesn't. That could certainly be said of Willie. In late December a gangly orange kitty started appearing at my niece's house looking for food. Having no idea if he belonged to someone or not, she decided to err on the side of caution and give him some food, and so the story goes, Willie came back day after day to Melissa Willoughby's house for his "fix". You see, Willie knew he had found someone with a kind heart for both animals and people. Melissa is a social worker for adults with mental disabilities, and she's also an animal lover and mom to several kitties and celebrity pup, Piper.
Melissa tried everything to find his owners, just in case they were looking for him, but no one ever came forward to claim this sweet kitty, so she decided to become his mommy. First order of business in early January was to have him nuetured, and then install a kitty door in the garage so he would always have a warm place to sleep. Melissa also had a FB campaign to name him and settled on Willie. It took a little coaxing, but soon Willie learned to use the kitty door in the garage and began settling in with the goal that he would eventually become a house kitty so that he would always be safe.
On Saturday, January 21, Melissa went into the garage to find a trail of blood leading to Willie. He was crying in terrible pain and couldn't move his back end. She immediately rushed him to the vet and they shaved the area that was bleeding and found an entry wound. Xrays revealed a pellet lodged near his spine. Willie had been shot in the quiet neighborhood off Clintonville Road in Paris.
The vet decided against operating immediately in hopes that Willie could live with the pellet inside of him. Willie was in a lot of pain, and placed on steriods and antibiotics. He returned to the vet on January 24, and the vet thinks the pellet is pressing on his sciatic nerve. No surgery yet.
While Willie is doing a little better and moving a little more thanks to the steriods and a lot of prayer, but he has a long road ahead of him and may need therapy to walk again normally; or ultimately may need surgery.
Melissa has encountered a lot of unexpected expenses related to Willie's treatment and will continue to accumulate expenses as she seeks the best treatment for Willie to be able to walk normally again, if that's possible.
Melissa would also like to make large posters to place around her neighborhood to help the Paris Police Department find the cruel person who did this to Willie and also bring awareness to animal cruelty so that no one else or their precious animal has to go through this.
All of us who know and love Melissa know that she has a heart of gold and that she's always the first to give when someone has a need. She goes above and beyond for the precious clients she works with on a daily basis, helping with their needs from inhome and hospital visits to making funeral arrangements and mourning their loss. Her heart is big and she gives it freely to humans and animals.
Right now though, she could use a little help herself. Let's all pitch in a few dollars to help Melissa give Willie the life he deserves. He found Melissa for a reason and God must have known he would need someone very special, kind and loving when He led Willie to Melissa's door.
No amount is too small to help this little guy walk again.
Thanks to all, and let's all do our part to not only help Willie but all innocent animals who are subject to abuse.
God bless you and God bless Melissa and little Willie.