12 Saves of Christmas: Day #6 – Wendy
Each day, we’ll share one of FieldHaven’s 12 most heartwarming cat saves of 2021. Each happy story was made possible through your generosity!
In February, a litter of kittens was brought in for spay and neuter at FieldHaven’s Hathaway Spay/Neuter Clinic. Our team noticed right away that one of the kittens was different.
Wendy had several skeletal abnormalities (including dwarfism) and dental issues, and was very lethargic. We sent her to an experienced foster home – one that could provide a higher level of medical care. When she got there, Wendy wouldn’t use her litter box and had ongoing potty challenges. She would only eat if hand- or syringe-fed. Wendy’s foster family took turns holding her so that she was literally with someone 24 hours a day.
We sent our vet team for a home visit. She seemed happy, and would welcome plenty of TLC, so we had to get to the bottom of this. The first step was to get her stabilized, make sure she could—and would—eat, drink and potty on her own. This took a few weeks.
Once that was consistent, it was time to figure out what else was going on. We consulted with a feline dental specialist. We ran blood tests. Finally a diagnosis: congenital hypothyroidism, which was, thankfully, treatable, despite it being incredibly rare.
We began managing her condition with daily medication. Her foster family continued to provide round-the-clock care. In a matter of days, Wendy started improving.
Wendy’s journey is not over, yet you are the ones who enabled us to not give up on her. Your donations fund special cases like this every day, and to say we are grateful wouldn’t be enough.
Today, Wendy has dramatically improved. She’s not lethargic; instead, she’s playful. Her coat is soft and shiny. She’s grown, and though she is still small, she’s healthy.
Wendy is being given as fulfilling of a life as she can because of you.
Through it all, she remains sweet and loving. She loves all humans and cats, even helping fellow foster kittens build confidence and social skills. Her foster family has no plans to give her up, so she will remain with them indefinitely, and FieldHaven is committed to providing ongoing care, as most vets have never even seen a case of congenital hypothyroidism.
This holiday season, we were blessed with a special donation match. All contributions up to $60,000 will be doubled! That means when you donate right now, you’re not only helping Wendy’s ongoing journey, you’re helping others too.
Your support matters in a big way. If Wendy could say thank you, she would.
– Joy Smith, executive director of FieldHaven
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