So this is Mishu’s story: My partner and I began feeding the strays from our block, but were feral and would not allow us to pet them. One day, “new cat” (aka Mishu), appeared. She wasn’t like the other cats though. We noticed that she was living in the bush outside an abandoned house next to mine and she didn’t interact much with the other cats. She was very human friendly though, and would come up to us each time she saw us and would rub herself on our legs, and at times, would even try to follow us back inside to my house. Unfortunately, I was unable to bring her in due to my grandmother’s allergy to cats. Coincidentally, the upstairs apartment became vacant and the first thing I thought was, “its October. The cold is on its way and she needs a home”. So what did we do? We decided to give her a home!

Everything was great for the first year. We had family cuddles every night, she loved her new indoor bush, made buiscuits on every soft surface she found in the house, had no concept of personal space, and made an appearance during every zoom meeting mommy had while at work. Everyone who came into contact with Mishu immediately fell in love with her.

Unfortunately, on 10/27/2022 we noticed that her right eye was red. At first we thought it was just pink eye, and decided to wait to take her to the vet. But the next day, her eye became a bit worse and would either stay dilated or not dilate at all. We took her to the Vet and they decided to run blood work . They sent us home with eyedrops (Prednisolone Acetate) to put in her eye two times a day. On 11/2/2022, we received a call from the Vet who informed us that her blood work showed that she tested positive for antibodies for toxoplasmia, and stated that this may be the underlying cause and prescribed antibiotics for her (Clindamycin). We gave them to her for 5 days, but her condition only became worse; her eye had turned completely black. On 11/7/2022, she had a follow up appointment and were told that she had Anterior Lense Luxation, and it needed to be treated immediately by an eye specialist due to its emergency to try to prevent glaucoma and her loss of vision in that eye. We called all the local vets and were constantly told there are no eye specialists in Brooklyn, so we had to take her to Shwarman Animal Medical Center’s emergency room in the Upper East Side. We were told that Mishu already has Glaucoma and that loss of vision in that eye was inevitable. The doctor informed us that there were three routes we could go down. The first option would be to treat the symptoms from the Anterior Lense Luxation and glaucoma. This required giving her eye massages, giving her eye drops multiple times a day, and constantly giving her medication for the pain. Her loss of vision would be slow and painful. The second option was for her to undergo a surgery in which her lense would be removed to relieve the pressure, and later treat her glaucoma which would result in her retaining some of her vision. This surgery though, did not ensure that she would not lose her vision in her right eye in the future, and the possibility of pain lingering in her eye was very real. The third option was for her to undergo an enucleation surgery and have her eye removed. It would completely relieve her of all symptoms, and we were told she would be back to normal in about ten days post surgery. This was not an easy choice to make, but we decided that we want to relieve her from present and future pain with option #3 and will show her the world through her one good eye. 

With all the doctor visits, exams, medications, and now surgery, we have found ourselves in a tight situation. To make matters worse, they don’t know the underlying cause yet, which means there will most likely be more exams to come to rule out cancer or other severe diseases.

Although it’s not an ideal situation, I find myself grateful that we decided to take her in, and that she has people who care for her. My heart breaks just thinking of all the cats who are out there suffering by themselves, especially in the cold. 

If you made it this far, thank you from the bottom of our heart. Thank you for taking the time to read her story and learning about her situation. If there’s any way that you can help, we would be eternally grateful. Whether it’s $1, a share, or recommendations, it is all very much appreciated.

We are also asking for something much greater than helping Mishu. We’re asking for you to be kind to those cats that you see wandering around the streets. They are simply trying to survive in this world, which we as humans, struggle so much to do sometimes. We have posted her medical records and pictures of our soon to be pirate.

We will continue to post pictures and update you on her surgery and recovery. Thank you!