By King. Every year there is one story that touches our hearts and makes us believe in the goodness of humankind. This year my story was that of a 5 or 6 year old very friendly soul from Hazelton.
The first post came in on June 10th 2013 Cheemo Grey panther needs a special needs foster or better yet his own family!
At first it was much like so many other posts that come in. This fella needed a forever family. I was hopeful for him to find his family like any other little stray. He had been brought to the right place. Yvette would work her magic, so, I wasn’t overly concerned. After all he was a C-A-T, and if you remember I had failed CAT-101 badly on my first test.
Then the posts continued, there were positive updates and sorrowful lows. Over the months things really changed for me. The search for a family was on again, off again. He was finally home, … he was not. Then in Dec, Cheemo found himself searching again, to find at the very least a temporary foster. His current family was going on holiday and he could not be left home alone. After all he is a diabetic and needed his people to give him his shots.
Through out the season we watch, hear and read alot of Christmas miracle stories. A phrase from one such story came to the forefront in my mind. There are absolutely NO grinches in Cheemo’s story, but, if we were to just substitute the name Grinch for Cheemo… Well let’s do it, “And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say – that Cheemo’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And then – the true meaning of Christmas came through, and Cheemo found the strength of *ten* Cats, plus two!”
The real strength here, came from of all individuals, the rescue societies and their supporters who continued to search, post, inquire and blog about Cheemo needing his home. On the outside it may have seemed like people had given up on Cheemo. That could not be farther from the truth. Behind the scenes there was always something happening with this little guy. It is just sometimes better to let things unfold privately, not to bring to many folks into a scenario that could be confusing. Like all wonderful miracles, in the end, the resolution was right under our noses.
Today this delightful little boy has finally been ADOPTED! The papers are signed, sealed and delivered! His former foster mom and family have submitted an application for him and want him in their lives forever and ever more. Congratulations Caroline and family. Cheemo has an older cat sister, who will tolerate his playful behavior, and a brother, D-O-G, who is learning to understand that Cheemo is a member of the family and therefore will not be leaving there again. (Unless it’s on holiday to visit)
On Dec. 20th 2013 when Cheemo had to be moved to a temporary foster home during the holidays, Cats Cradle Animal Rescue, Bev, stepped up and took him in to her happy fold. However Cheemo was not happy about the drive down to the south end of the island and things took a turn for the very worst for Cheemo. He was refusing to eat. What happened next, we would never have guessed. It would result into one of the happiest days ever.
Cheemo’s health plummeted. Bev could not encourage, nor force him to eat. He couldn’t have his insulin if he wasn’t eating. Bev was syringe feeding him corn syrup and checking his glucose hourly. It was all over the place. She started him on antibiotics in case there was an infection to clear up. She gave him subcue fluids and hoped that would make a difference. It didn’t. Cheemo continued to plummet.
In just two days he had gone from a stable happy cat to a very sick little boy. Bev had been working diligently everyday to try to get this little guy back on his feet again. Phones were ringing, emails being sent, vets advised and immediate transportation arranged. Joan, also from Cats Cradle, volunteered to transport Cheemo to the closet vet. Thank you ShawPet for all your expertise. You made a difference in Cheemo immediately! Thank you so much Joan for getting him there so quickly.
Well, after a day and an over night stay he made it out of the woods and returned to Bev’s nurturing arms. He was on a strict diet of DM Diabetic canned food which he was eating eagerly. There was talk about him being in remission. When he was at the vets he had no insulin at all. His return to Bev meant he was with other cats who were free-feeding on several kinds of dry chow. His Blood sugar levels rose and it is suspected that the food resulted in his needing his low doses of insulin once again.
Meanwhile Cheemo’s previous foster mom, Caroline, returned from holiday to her 2 cats and dogs but of course Cheemo was not there. Apparently her other cat seemed to be searching for Cheemo and had not even touched Cheemo’s bed. Caroline’s heart ached for Cheemo and she wrote to see how he was doing. Hearing of his ill health but return to stability was enough to make Caroline say, “That’s it! I knew I was his forever family!” She wrote Yvette immediately and began the paperwork to give Cheemo his permanent Forever home. Can you guess what Yvette said? “How Cool Is That!”
Jan 6rd UPDATE: Cheemo is back HOME with Caroline and family. When he first arrived he ate supper and slept well. His blood sugar was a bit high so Bev advised her to give him a small dose of insulin and recheck in the morning.
Caroline continues to work on getting a handle on his feeding, giving him canned food mostly with very little dry, since that seems to spike his blood glucose. She says, “He eats anything here, not fussy at all! Lots of ear pricks for testing unfortunately.” Tasha her old female cat is fine with Cheemo. Whew!
Caroline says she’s still learning to use her new camera. Some of Cheemo’s fur on his ruff was trimmed, must have been when he was at the vet’s in Victoria – so his fur looks uneven. He is on his favourite perch, on top of an old cabin trunk, 4.5ft high.
Buddy, the young dog, is learning to tolerate him. She added that his blood sugar had been high, and that he was seeming very quiet. Cheemo has not needed any insulin since last Sat. morning, his blood sugar levels are stable on wet food, very little dry food as that spikes his sugar and makes him diabetic again. He is getting lots of testing/earpricks, but Caroline is hoping to be able to control the diabetes with a strict diet. Right now he eats 5x/day, small amounts of meat at a time – “I’d like to get it to x4, or even 3, meals per day eventually.”
She says, he is much happier now, and that he probably felt bad when blood sugar was too high.
Turtle Gardens would like to send out a huge thank you to everyone who participated in bringing this little miracle cat back to full health and into his intended forever home.
Of course, Thank you to Linda for bringing Cheemo to Yvette in the first place. Sarah for fostering him in the beginning and teaching us how well Cheemo got along with dogs. Izzy you are a dream dog and Cheemo will love you forever more.
Cats Cradle Animal Rescue Bev, for opening up her arms to this little boy and going above and beyond to bring his health back on track. Joan, also from Cats Cradle, for jumping in and driving him to the vet when Bev was so swamped and couldn’t get away to bring him there.
The wonderful staff of Shaw Veterinary Clinic who took such good care of Cheemo and worked their magic on him during his stay.
Tracy from Katie’s Place Animal Shelter who was continually on stand by, ready to bring Cheemo to her sanctuary if need be. Caroline for seeking the best placement for Cheemo while she needed to be away on holidays and of course ultimately realizing he was HOME all along.
Wow, what a great team!
Miracles really do happen!
If you would like to help either or both of these generous non profit societies please click on their links below.
Donate to Cats Cradle Animal Rescue
Donate to Katie’s Place