Smoothie's Journey

Smoothie, a.k.a. tumor girl, had it rough, living as a stray in a Sweet Home trailer park, scrambling for food put out for all the caste offs by a kind tenant.  I got most of those kitties fixed in two trips with them to the FCCO.  There are a handful more needing fixed, but I'll get to it.

Meanwhile, Smoothie had been fixed years ago, I was told, although no one knew just how old she is.  I tried to contain her, in a six hour marathon, waiting for her to show, while all the while, turned out, she was napping back in the berry vines.  I failed.   I had made an appointment for her at Heartland Humane's surgery, for the next day, and thought I could easily find her and get her into a trap or carrier.  Was not to be.

So when a tenant of the park called me Sunday and said they had her in their bathroom, I was ecstatic.   Someone else picked her up and I picked her up from them, the next morning.

I fell in love too quickly with this sweet girl, so grateful that when she encountered her very first pile blankee she went nuts, rolling and meowing hoarsely in delight.   She was easy to love, easy to cry over, that she suffered for so long, living so hard.

Her ears were curled over in hematomas from scratching at ear mites.   A fluid filled cyst hung down off her chin three inches swinging when she walked, catching on things.

Fleas crawled her body.  Worms stole any nutrition she might get from scant food.

And yet she survived.  With her beautiful peaceful loving grateful spirit untouched by her hardships.

Yesterday, she got the works at Heartland, for a fraction of what that would have cost elsewhere.  Her cyst was removed.  Her fleas and worms killed.  Vaccinations were given.  Her ears were cleaned and treated for mites.  Bad teeth were pulled.  She was given a long term antibiotic injection because she had vibrating gurgle sounds in her lungs that may be pneumonia.  Her belly breathing may indicate she has a diaphragmatic hernia.   But its not for sure since many cats so afflicted crash immediately under anesthesia.  She did not crash.

Today, I took Smoothie, with mixed emotion, to her new person.  It is a GREAT home, the best, a few other cats to socialize with, lots of room, cozy beds and hide outs and hang outs and pile blankees all over the place.  Heaven, really, for Smoothie.

Why do I still want to cry over such an outcome?  Because its beautiful that's why.  Makes up for all the bad things lately, most of them really, and makes me happy to think of her now.

Goodbye Smoothie.  Good Luck.  Love you, girl.

Always will.

This was Smoothie at the trailer park with that large cyst.

You can see where it was removed, yesterday, at Heartland Humane.

Hugs to Smoothie