Thursday, November 13, 2014

Shot up Billy

Almost a year ago now, I took three cats from a Lebanon neighborhood to a Portland rescue, to reduce the load on a Lebanon woman feeding the neighborhood abandons, which in that area, are many.  Two of the three got homes rather quickly, but the 3rd, newly named Bronco Billy, (was Smokey before) had an enlarged nose.  I had seen his nose up in Lebanon and said "What is wrong with him?"   But no one else had noticed his nose was grossly enlarged.

So off he went with the other two and I wish I could have gotten more cats out of that neighborhood to safety.  

Bronco Billy was diagnosed with a rather rare fungal infection.  The spores of this fungus are not airborne.  Cats catch it through direct contact with bird droppings, often pigeon droppings, although there are other carriers.

So ever since then he has been on anti fungal medication.  His nose is still enlarged and probably always will be.  He went in for a dental this week.  But he couldn't breath under anesthesia, crashed and his oxygen levels went way down.  Finally, after an hours worth of intervention, the clinic got him back to breathing on his own again.  They X-rayed him to try to understand why his oxygen levels had dropped under anesthesia.  And this is what they found:




See that light spot, under the rib cage on the left of the Xray?  That's a pellet that has collapsed one lung.  He'll never be able to go under anesthesia and this is why he has less energy than other cats his age.  He also has BB's lodged in tissue in his jaw.  This is why I tried so hard to get cats out of that Lebanon neighborhood.  People are mean to cats there.    He was probably shot after he was neutered or he would not have survived going under for his neuter.

Bronco Billy is still with ARCF of Portland.  That's Animal Rescue and Care Fund.  THANK YOU ARCF for helping Bronco Billy out and giving him such good care.

Here's their facebook page.

If you're on facebook, go to their page, "like" their page, or even consider donating in the name of Bronco Billy.  Thanks.

4 comments:

  1. Some people suck.
    One of our cats, now gone, but still mourned, was recovering from being desexed when the neighbours child shot her - to test the slug gun he had been given.
    Poor M'lady, shaved belly, paw shaved for the anaesthetic, tattooed ear - and then shot in the chest. And the slug remained for the rest of her life because the vet said it was too close to her heart to move it safety.
    Hiss and spit.
    And she lived with us until she was nearly twenty-two. Loved to the last, feisty to the last.
    I do hope Bronco Billy picks up. And wish ugly things on the people who did it to him.

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  2. Wow, a tough cat she was, EC. Billy is very lucky to up with that rescue in Portland now and out of that Lebanon neighborhood. He does seem to have extra lives in his pocket!

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  3. I cannot believe people would shoot BBs at an animal. How heartless and cruel :(

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  4. Well, Opti, I don't know why people would do that. He's the sweetest cat you could imagine, too, was living as a stray fed by a kind woman up there in Lebanon. I helped her get them all fixed, so no issues there. I guess maybe some people feel anger and take it out on anything alive. Maybe that's it. I don't know.

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