Help Save Frankie: A Second Chance for a Cat Who Never Gave Up

Frankie Update: Healing, Progress & A Few New Concerns

We wanted to share another update on our sweet Frankie and, as always, say thank you for the incredible amount of love, support, prayers, and donations you have continued to send his way.

Frankie has been settling into his foster home and continuing to heal after surgery. He is still receiving pain medication and sedatives every eight hours, and overall, he has been doing really well. He’s eating, drinking plenty of water, putting weight on, and having normal bowel movements.

His cleft palate does still cause quite a bit of sneezing, especially with eating and drinking, so we are continuing to monitor that closely until he is healed enough to undergo his cleft palate surgery.

One of the biggest improvements has actually been Frankie learning how to navigate everyday life in his casts. In the beginning, we were having to take him in for additional bandage changes because he was still figuring out how to go to the bathroom on his own without stepping in it or having accidents on his bandages. We’re so happy to report that he has finally figured it out and is becoming much more independent! It may seem like a small victory, but for Frankie, it is a huge one.

He is getting so much love in his foster home and continues to show us what an incredibly sweet, happy, affectionate little guy he is.

Unfortunately, this past week also brought a few new concerns.

Frankie developed a small infection in his left paw near the previously broken toe, so his doctors have started him on a two-week course of antibiotics. Between the antibiotics, pain medication, sedatives, and his other medications, we are now administering medication four different times throughout the day.

Our bigger concern at the moment is his right front leg.

The breaks in that leg were extremely severe and, because these injuries had been left untreated for so long before Frankie came into care, the bones had gone through a cycle of being broken, partially healing incorrectly, breaking again, and partially healing again. In order to properly repair his leg, the surgeons ultimately had to re-break and reconstruct those areas.

Because of the severity and chronic nature of those injuries, Frankie is currently experiencing a significant amount of swelling, inflammation, redness, and purple discoloration in that leg.

We are now taking him in twice a week for bandage changes so his doctors can continually examine the leg and closely monitor the swelling and inflammation. Right now, our biggest priority is keeping his movement extremely limited and giving his body the opportunity to heal.

If the inflammation does not begin to improve, the next step may be performing a culture to determine whether there is an infection present. We are hoping and praying that the swelling subsides and that there are no further complications or need for additional intervention involving his toes or paw.

Because of all of this, there have unfortunately been quite a few unexpected expenses added to Frankie’s care.

We have already had to purchase additional antibiotics, pain medication, and sedatives; pay for more frequent bandage changes and veterinary visits; treat him with a de-wormer after worms were unexpectedly found in his stool; and keep him on prescription flea medication because of the severe infestation he had when he was rescued.

Thankfully, the worms are now gone, which is another big win for our boy!

There is also a possibility that the cast on his right leg will need to remain on longer than originally anticipated. Depending on how his healing progresses, that could mean additional procedures and anesthesia for things such as pin removal and continued orthopedic care.

And once we get his legs safely through this stage of healing, we still have his cleft palate surgery ahead of us.

This is exactly why every single donation has meant so much. There have been so many expenses we simply could not have predicted when we first took Frankie in, and your support has allowed us to continue saying yes to the care he needs as new things arise while still preparing financially for his cleft palate surgery.

Frankie Still Needs His Forever Family

As much as we are focused on getting Frankie healthy, we are also still searching for the most important thing of all: his forever home.

Frankie has been through more than any little cat ever should, and somehow he is still one of the sweetest, happiest, most loving boys. He deserves a family who will absolutely spoil him, give him all the love and attention he has missed out on, and make sure he never has to wonder whether he is safe again.

We would love to find his forever family as soon as possible. If you or someone you know feels like Frankie could be their boy, please reach out to us. And even if you aren’t able to adopt, simply sharing his story could be what helps his future family find him.

We continue to be completely overwhelmed by the amount of love surrounding Frankie. Thank you for donating, sharing his story, checking in on him, praying for him, and rooting for this sweet boy every step of the way.

We still have a road ahead of us, but Frankie is healing, he is loved, and we are going to keep doing everything we can to give him the life he deserves.