Rescuing Ryoko

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share a story with you all about a time I rescued a seven-week old tabby cat from a Shell gas station. About a year ago I went to my local Shell gas station to fill up my tank. As I’m pumping the gas into my car I began looking around enjoying the beautiful Florida day when I first saw her. This tiny little orange kitty coming from behind the gas station (a small wooded area) looking for some food. Me being the animal lover I am I walked over to the kitty after I finished pumping my gas. Naturally she was frightened by me approaching her causing her to run off back to the wooded area. She was so small I thought she was maybe four weeks old just skin and bones. I decided to buy some canned wet cat food for her in the gas station. Leaving the opened can of cat food behind the Shell station I started to think maybe she was still too young to eat cat food so I drove over to the pet store to buy her kitty formula. Returning fifteen minutes later I found her playing on a shopping cart behind the gas station, hopping around catching flies and lizards. She was such a happy playful kitty I couldn’t leave this little girl behind the gas station where raccoons and snakes lived that could possibly kill her. I began to try and lure her in with cat food but uninterested with what I was offering made it nearly impossible to get close enough to catch her. After about an hour of trying to catch this little cutie and running late to work I called my best friend. Telling her all about the kitty I had found and her being as big an animal lover as me she met me at the gas station and we began our mission to catch and rescue the kitty. We decided to buy ham lunchables thinking that could get her attention since it was probably something she was more familiar with being a stray and all. She loved the ham but although she loved the food she was still too scared to come over to us. After hours of trying to catch her it was almost midnight we decided to give it a break and come back the next day. It went on like this for five days. Everyday we would go buy lunchable meat and try and lure her near us. The nights would go by and we would worry for her hoping shed make it through the nasty Florida storms. One night though and the last night I brought a cage set it up behind the dumpster so when she went into the small enclosure to look for food that night she would only have one way out into the cage. That last night was such a great success we had finally caught her! Feeling so happy and grateful to have been able to save this little girl I couldn’t wait to take her home and show her what it would feel like to be loved and cared for that she no longer had to live in fear and could sleep in peace every night.

Her first night home little Ryoko was frightened spent the entire night hidden under my bed. The next morning came my mom being as open minded as possible with the fact I brought home a stray kitty she came into my room with a towel and was able to catch Ryoko. Finally, being able to hold her calmly in our arms I was able to bottle feed her kitty formula. After she had a full belly I gave her a warm bath in the sink which she seemed to appreciate very much. You could see her warming up to us by the minute. Being a house of only girls my mother sister and my hairless cat Luna Ryoko was fitting in perfectly. The next day I took Koko to the vet where they told me she was a healthy kitty who had to be treated for stomach worms but other than that she was healthy. My concern was she had a faint meow it sounded like she had a sore throat which I was familiar with due to the fact Luna had gotten a cold from a neighborhood stray which caused her to have a sore throat and having to take antibiotics. Explaining to the vet my concerns they assured me that she was fine and that she could fight it off herself (he was our new vet) I thought well I’m no vet so he must know best. A week went by and Koko had lost her meow completely. She would open her mouth as though she was meowing but no sound would come out. Id meow to her everyday trying to get a response but hearing nothing in return. I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. You could see how grateful she was to be living with us always showing affection and love to all of us. Following Luna around learning from her trying to play with her even thought she was her mom. Luna who was an only cat for five years wasn’t taking it too easily. While Ryoko saw it as her best friend playmate Luna saw her as a pain in her ass. LOL. Eventually learning to love Ryoko as much as everyone else.

My mom had gotten used to me bringing home stray animals and finding them homes which was my original plan for Koko but it was hard to let go of her. I felt as though no one would be able to show her the attention love and affection a kitty like her needed. She was scared of almost everything and I didn’t want to give her to a forever home when I could be her forever home. At first my mother was furious with my decision to keep her because that meant extra food, extra vet bills, extra responsibility but to me it meant I was going to give this kitty the best home she could possibly have and nothing else mattered other than her having exactly that. So if I had to work a little harder and more often then so be it.

A few weeks went by we returned to the vet for her worm treatment again I explained my concern about her meowing and the vet explained that some cats just don’t meow. That was the first I’ve ever heard. There’s always a cause for something like this. Ryoko began to be apart of the family feeling at home after being with us a few months always running around and jumping off everything around the house including Luna she was having a blast. Until one day I was looking at Kokos eyes noticing some brownish reddish spots that she did not have a week before. Being a science major and worried for my kitty I began my research about her eyes. I found online after a while of research that it could be some underlying infection causing the discoloration in her eyes. After explaining to my mom and boyfriend what I believed it could be they told me I may be making something that is nothing bigger than it needed to be. That she was a healthy happy playful kitty even the vet said. So knowing I had a vet visit in a week I decided to hold off taking her in. The vet visit came we went and I was told her eyes look great they are clear and to not worry about the discoloration. Me still feeling as though it was not normal for this to appear but everyone around me expressing that it was nothing I decided to believe the vet.

About a month after I noticed Ryoko hiding more not coming out to play not attacking Luna every time she walked by. She became a completely different kitty. I made an appointment with the vet for a few days later but before that day came Ryoko became very weak started losing balance wouldn’t eat wouldn’t drink. I called and made an emergency visit took her in that day to a different vet. This vet told me she was dehydrated that she was weak from her fever that she will be fine in a few days after she takes her medications. But again me being me I had already searched everything online prior to arriving to the vet. I ran by him the fact that it could be neurological that she had spots in her eyes and how the unbalance could be caused by a cerebral ataxia. He immediately ruled that out saying how I was wrong that it was just her fever making her weak. AGAIN I listened hoping I was wrong and he was right hoping the medication would work and she would be ok. Two days later Ryoko was completely unable to stand or move rushing her back to the vet he told me she needed fluids and a shot for her infection. BUT what was the infection? He didn’t know he was randomly treating her instead of just referring me to a specialist which is what she needed. We gave her the IV for fluids and a new medication. She only got worse I took her to another vet they treated her for a UTI due to her peeing in random places in the house and being so weak.She wasn’t getting better. All the vets did was generalize her condition they didn’t practice functional medicine. They didn’t look at all her symptoms as one they took one symptom and ran with it. I explained how her eyes were a sign of some kind of neurodegenerative disease I was told that I was wrong.

After weeks of taking her to different doctors I ended up taking her to an animal hospital that was known to have some really great vets. I was seen immediately within five minutes of being there I was told I was right all along that most vets don’t think outside of the box and if it were caught sooner she could have started treatment slowing the degeneration allowing her to live a semi normal life she would just walk a little funny. Heartbreaking news to know I was right all along while being told I was wrong, dramatic, and a hypochondriac for my cat and that it was too late for her. Although everyone lost hope I still decided to start the treatments for her and care for her at home until she was better. For 3 weeks I stayed by her side 24/7 I would syringe feed her, change her bedding because she was too weak to stand to go to the bathroom, distribute her medications when needed. I even built a walker for her. Her disease isn’t uncommon in stray cats and most cats can live with the disease if caught early enough. I began to teach her to walk in her walker it seemed like she was getting stronger trying to walk around, wanting to be outside sunbathing, she had gotten a bundle of energy and seemed to use it all up. The next morning I woke up and Koko had managed to snuggle herself up next to me something she had been so weak to do but this morning she just looked different. Her eyes looked dark she wasn’t well. I called my mother explaining that I thought it was time I was going to take her in to be put to sleep but before I could even finish my sentence Koko looked at me and took her last breath. She was able to live for six months with us and two of those months she was sick.

Lessons learned 1. never let someone tell you you’re wrong when it comes to your pet you know your pet best they’re your companion they were chosen for you before you even knew it, 2. Vets don’t know everything and even the best of the best can sometimes have a block in their brains, and 3. Most of all I learned how to deal with the heartbreak of losing a pet I cared for so very much yes it was sad but knowing I gave her the best home and I worked my hardest to save her life was enough she was happy and felt what it was like to be loved unconditionally. In the end Koko saved me. RIP KokoKitty always and forever my first hairy kitty.