Kiwi's Long Road to Recovery

On February 19, 2025, my sister Brooke's cat Kiwi was believed to have escaped in the middle of the night out of a small armadillo hole in her heavily gated back yard. In all of the 12 years my sister has had Kiwi, ( 5 years living at this location) Kiwi has never showed any intention to roam or do anything other than bask in the sun on the small back yard patio . We considered her disappearance very unusual.

Kiwi was a very healthy girl, well fed and absolutely well loved. As a woman with no children, Brooke could easily say that her cat, Kiwi, and her German shepherd, Zeus, are her babies. The bond the three of them shared together is the type of bond that very few people with a dog and cat household get to experience. Every night, Kiwi would lay on her lap on the couch, right next to Zeus, seek attention from them both, lick Zeus's ears, and would purr for hours. Kiwi's disappearance left the both of them feeling empty. With no camera footage of Kiwi ever leaving the house, no signs of her in the house, no solid sightings of her out and about, no proof that she was even alive, we assumed the worst but we NEVER gave up searching. Brooke followed up with every lead, even leads that were miles and miles away, hoping for some sign of her baby with no luck, and still no answers. She managed to find others missing cats, and trapped a few strays that were in need of medical attention.

SEVEN WEEKS AND ONE DAY LATER Brooke finally found the answer she was looking for.... a possible sighting of Kiwi was seen just a few houses down from home. It seems Kiwi had found her way to the very very dense, large patch of woods near Brooke's house where we assume she was hiding/surviving all of that time. Even though Brooke had walked past that location many times, had even tried to go in the thick brush, had clothes that smelled like home hanging outside, multiple bowls of cat food around the house, traps set up around the neighborhood, Kiwi never made her presence known until the evening of Thursday April 10th. A somewhat difficult capture led to a huge rejoice followed by bittersweet emotions. Kiwi is unfortunately in very rough shape... Due to her not eating for weeks, she has lost a significant amount of weight, and her body turned on her fatty organs, such as her liver, to try and stay alive. Kiwi has become jaundiced due to this decreased liver function, she has a high fever due to an infection caused by a larva that had laid eggs that hatched inside of her and has been given a 25% chance of survival. Kiwi still shows so much affection and wants nothing but love. We know she has the fight in her and Brooke is going to do everything she can to allow her that chance to fight.

This is where we need our communities help once again.... Kiwi's medical bills have already exceeded 5k and we are only on day two.... Brooke did have a savings set aside specifically for Kiwi but this amount has already exceed those funds. The ER vets are treating her fever, infection, and liver, all while maintaining her fluid levels and her food intake via feeding tube. Her fight is far from over and will take months to get back to the Kiwi she was before this long journey. The Pictures below show Kiwi before and after she was found and the condition she now faces.

Please consider donating to help aid in Kiwi's recovery. Any amount helps and is truly appreciated more than you will ever know!

We thank you again to this community for your efforts and support... You all have truly showed us what it means to bring a community together and we need your help now more than ever. ❤️