Now that homes have been found for the 20 big cats, In-Sync Exotics is faced with a new challenge – mounting medical bills.
Kane, the cougar whom upon arrival, couldn't even get up to walk, required immediate medical care. This poor baby arrived heat exhausted, dehydrated and vitamin deficient. We believe that sometime before Kane arrived, he suffered a small seizure or stroke resulting in facial and leg movement changes on the left side of his body. The vet believes that 10 days after he arrived Kane experienced another stroke or seizure during the night, that may have resulted in him aspirating on undigested food or saliva and the fluid entered Kane’s lungs causing him to develop pneumonia. And if that wasn’t enough for this poor cat to endure, we learned last week, during a full body exam at the veterinarian’s that approximately six months ago, something terrible happened to Kane resulting in his right leg to be completely shattered. Unfortunately, Kane did not receive medical attention after this devastating event, so his bones were left to mend themselves. A large calcium callous grew between the bones. Kane can walk with little or no pain; however, he will always walk with a limp.
Upon his arrival to In-Sync Exotics, Howard was seen by his new veterinarian, whom diagnosed him as being emaciated. It was extremely hard for Howard to eat his food without vomiting. When Howard was unable to defecate he was taken to the vet for a more thorough examination. X-rays and blood work results revealed that Howard’s intestines dried up due to extreme dehydration. Hard balls of fecal matter had to be removed by the veterinarian and Howard endured two enemas, a procedure of introducing liquids into his rectum and colon. The very next night Howard had to return to the vet for even more assistance. Howard was released to In-Sync Exotics once again so he could be closely monitored by staff to ensure he received plenty of fluids and medications to help his bowel move properly.
Four days later, Howard finally ate a small meal consisting of one pound of ground beef with mineral oil. It was slow going for Howard, but he was able to eat and later expel out a small amount of fecal matter. He is currently taking two types of antibiotic pills each day along with steroids for the pain and potassium gel shots in his mouth. It will take some time before his intestines function properly again, but we are hopeful that he will make a full recovery.
Lance, a cougar who recently relocated to Popcorn Park Zoo Animal Rescue and Sanctuary located in New Jersey, was also in poor shape when we first arrived in Poetry. The vet determined that both of his back legs were broken at one time and he was not given medical treatment to mend his fragile bones. Lance also suffered a past big cat bite on his front right paw that never healed correctly. Like Kane, Lance will walk with a pronounced limp, but we believe he is not in pain at this time.
All three cougars came up positive for toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease caused by a protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, which is found primarily in cats. We believe the cats may have contracted this parasitic disease by eating infected meat or by ingesting dried feces of a cat that was infected. Filthy, unsanitary environments are breeding grounds for the toxoplasmosis bacteria, so it is possible all the cats were infected from all the waste found in the animals’ enclosures.
Therefore, all 9 cats (4 cougars, 4 lions, and Spike) received clindamycin so as to aid the cats’ immune system so they can destroy the bacteria themselves. A one month’s supply of clindamycin used to treat all 9 cats cost our sanctuary about $1350! Thus far, treatment for Kane, Howard, and Lance, plus vet care for of all the other poetry cats cost In-Sync Exotics over $10,500.
Fortunately, the remaining cougars, Abel and Chloe seem to be doing just fine.
And still the medical bills continue to mount!
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| Layla at play! |
Very soon, Layla and Eve will need to be spayed before they can join their sister Aurora (already spayed) and brother Aramis in the same enclosure. The cost to spay each lioness is approximately $2,500—that $5,000 for both cats!
Then there is Chloe, the female cougar, needing to be spayed at a cost of $1,500 as she is currently in heat and exciting all the male cats around here.
This week, the four lions will be checked out by our veterinarian. For obvious reasons, we pray that they are healthy animals!
Whew! Even though the Poetry animals needs about $18,000 worth of veterinarian care, we are so grateful we were able to give them a second chance at In-Sync Exotics.
Unfortunately, with the number of big cats needing immediate homes, such as the two lions from the closed sanctuary and the cats from Poetry -- and the sad reality that more cats will need our help very soon -- our rescue budget is stretched thin due to so many demands.
Without your generous support, we will be unable to provide these cats with forever homes and give them with the personalized care they so desperately need-- will you help us continue?
Please donate whatever you can afford to help us provide a loving home for the animals that have lost so much in life. Thank you for all you do for animals!
