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CHARLIE

A Very Unique & Awesome Cat

Charlie Unfortunately Crossed the Rainbow Bridge On June 21st, 2024 @ 2:15pm while we held her in our arms.

We took Charlie from a Summit County Rescue on February 2nd, 2022.  The original rescue captured her in November 2021 and this poor little girl had Pyometra (Infection in the Uterus) and according to that rescue & the vet who took care of her she was just a couple of days away from dying from the infection.  On top of that her FUR was Badly Matted and she had to be completely shaved as that alone is painful to them.  Because this was done in November (going into WINTER), the rescue could not release her back to where she came from with no fur to stay warm.  During her healing process, that rescue tried to find her a home but no one had stepped forward.  Since that rescue already had her for three months in a cage, we offered to transfer her to our care.  One issue we found out right away is that Charlie is approximately 90% deaf. She feels vibrations and can only hear EXTREMELY Loud and Ultra High Sound Frequencies only.  Charlie, UNLIKE most cats needing the 3-3-3 rule for adoptions, she took to us immediately and most of our other cats quickly and within a week, she was acting like Part of Our Catify Family!!

From February 2nd, 2022 to Mid May 2022 Charlie was doing wonderful !!  She was even being a mother cat to others and getting along great with all the cats.  Cats SOMETIMES are really GREAT in HIDING illness and PAIN.  Charlie was certainly one of those cats and she was a TROOPER.  It was a Friday night, early May 2022 (3 months after we got her), I had just tucked Charlie and 9 other cats in for bed at MIDNIGHT.  6:30am on Saturday I walked into our Sunroom where we keep 10 cats at night so "WE" can sleep, I found TWO bouts of Diarrhea in our litter boxes, THREE different "Throw-up" piles and Charlie hiding in her favorite sleeping area unable to lift her head.  We RUSHED her to our Vets on Saturday, and they found SEVERE Dental Issues.... an exposed nerve, several rotted teeth (a few down to the gum lines), a broken off tooth and gums red and infected in areas. It was obvious that Charlie's initial vet exam with the previous rescue did not catch this dental issue (probably due to the emergency Pyometra situation) and we were not advised she had any dental issues when she was transferred otherwise we would have addressed it right away.  After $1300+ in dental surgery, Charlie's dental issues were cleared up.

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After having 13 teeth extracted and she already had some missing prior, she has been a champion when it comes to eating.  We kept her on a soft food diet for a few weeks, then she went back to eating dry food also on her own.  From May 2022 until January 8th 2024 Charlie was truly a Catify Family Member, fitting right in, loving life and even demanding TREATS like the rest of our feline family.  Up to this point having her under our care she LOVED attention, LOVED to play with toys, Catnip, but WAS NOT a lap kitty and on a good day you could HOLD HER for about 30 seconds and then she wants down and she would let you know with her deep, cow like meow.  Charlie was not shy when it came to eating!!  We would feed her with the others and each cat would have their own bowl of "Their"" favorite food, that is unless Charlie decided to just walk right up to their bowls and HEAD PUSH the other cats out of the way.  Every day was just another "Buffett" for Charlie THANKS to the other cats!!  It truly is because of the friendships and bonds Charlie has formed with the other cats that they really didn't mind sharing their food!!

January 9th, 2024 Charlie started with several sneezes throughout the day.  On the 10th, Charlie had more sneezes and started with a cough that evening. Starting the 11th, she stopped eating/drinking, still had sneezes/cough and by noon looked like she was gagging every once in a while.  We had her to the vets by 3pm, did Blood Work, X-rays, IV Fluids, Medication and was told to wait and see.  On the 12th we took her back to the vets as NO Improvement/Change. To us, she was a little worse. The vets did a re-exam, additional medication and IV Fluids and we were sent home and told to let the medication try to work. On the 13th (Saturday) Charlie was STILL NOT eating/drinking and was gagging when we TRIED just 1/2ml Fancy Feast Extra Gravy at a time, but she gagged everytime.  Back to the vets and they gave her more IV Fluids, another re-exam and said to give the medications through the weekend to work.  Sunday the 14th, NO Change.  We were on the doorstep of the vets at 7am on Monday the 15th for an ER Drop-Off.  We brought Charlie back home on Wednesday afternoon late (17th) with SOME IMPROVEMENT.

LONG Story Short, Charlie after extensive testing was found to have Feline Herpes, Mycoplasma Bacterial Infection with elevated Coronavirus levels.  She also had an inflamed throat which was the reason for not eating/drinking as it was VERY, VERY SORE.  Once discharged into our care, we continued IV Fluids twice a day while the short term and long term steroids worked along with a newer 10 day antibiotic.  By the 1st week in February, she had finally completely turned around.  SADLY, one person from the previous rescue during her FIVE DAYS of not eating/drinking on her own said: "For the love of God stop her suffering! You are letting her starve to death which is so cruel... Tube feed or euthanize, I can't stand to see it.  She is SUFFERING in the one video"  FORTUNATELY, we DID NOT listen to that someone who only saw 45 seconds of a video and most likely DID NOT READ what we were all doing to SAVE CHARLIE through DAILY vet care.  The result for this particular issue: $3000+ Later..... Charlie is Alive and Thriving as well as she can and is no longer dealing with THREE health issues at one time (perfect Super Storm) like she did while she was sick.

While we did not like seeing Charlie go through what she did, what NO ONE knew is that both my wife and I spent a TON of extra time with Charlie during her illness, on the floor, in bed or anyplace Charlie wanted to be... laying with her, comforting her, praying for her and seeing her expressions on how much she WANTED TO LIVE !!  We even visited her daily at the vets while she was getting 24/7 care. Since her illness, Charlie has CHANGED... She is now a lap kitty, loves to be picked up and held and loved on, follows us around like a little puppy dog, looks at you with such love and thankfulness in her eyes each and every day.  Charlie is back to Loving Life.  While Charlies Feline Herpes will always be with her and weaken her immune system, she is on a special Low Carb Diet now with added nutrition to help support & strengthen her immune system. Charlie is likely to always have some type of health issue from time to time, thus why we watch her ever so closely now.  She will ALWAYS receive the best of care as she is a permanent part of our Catify Family!! 

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Since we took over the care of Charlie back on February 2nd, 2022, we have had north of $4500 alone in Veterinarian Care for her.  Was Charlie, a mere cat worth all what we went through caring wise and paid for??  Absolutely !!  Even though the expenses are hard to absorb since we operate on minimal donations, to end a Loving Life Early would not have been fair to Charlie.  Even though she was suffering with a very sore throat and difficult breathing, the three different veterinarians who saw her three days in a row never said she needed to be tube fed or euthanized, but to wait and see if she pulled through shortly with the steroids and medications to which she did. 

 

Catify Café & Adoptions was started in 2019, and while our GOAL is to have a "State of the Art" facility, we have evolved into catering more to rescues and the cats that we have taken from them (usually special situations). These cats are SO LOVED, Worked with, Played with and Care for each and every day.  The LOVE we get back from them, the Laughter from their antics, the Cuteness Overload from those special looks they give you is ALL SO WORTH IT!! It is cats like CHARLIE that motivates us to keep moving forward with trying to get our facility built and up and running... to help and assist the Rescues, perform TNR's and help multiple Feline Communities!! 

PayPal: office@catifycafe.org         Venmo: @catifycafe         Cash App: $catifycafe         Zelle: 3304652568
Mail Checks To:  Catify Café & Adoptions  *  P. O. Box 21  *  Orrville,  OH  44667-0021
If you would like to Donate for the Care of our cats... 100% of your proceeds supports our cats !!  We Are 501C3
We also Accept CHEWY GIFT CARDS Which helps pay for Food & Supplies.

Catify Cafe & Adoptions, Inc.

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