A kind person who has had her own experience with a sporo cat wrote to me with this sharing below. She would prefer anonymity.
I hope this sharing will inspire all of us not to give up with our animals, whether sporo or other diseases which may require prolonged treatment.
Here it is:
Dear Dr. Chan,
First and foremost kudos to all the wonderful work you do. I am a keen follower of your blog. I find it informative and useful. My hubby and I had been spaying and neutering abandoned cats in our neighborhood since year 2000 using our own resources and finances.
I would like to share my experience caring for a male cat diagnosed with severe sporotrichosis. He came to us after being thrown out by his owners in 2009. Skeletal weighing around 2 Kg. Our regular vet was off we took him to a nearby vet. This vet immediately insisted on euthanasia and kept on pressuring me to do it over the phone.. When I dropped by earlier than I suppose to I was shocked to see that the vet had put him in a pile of garbage. Long story short we took him to our regular vet.
At the same time I did researches online re the disease. Even viewed the CDC website for infectious disease control. My regular vet also was very negative as she was shorthanded. Left the decision whether to euthanise or not with her as I trust her judgment. We cannot take him home immediately only after the 3rd day due to space problem and neighbor massive renovation had damaged part of our home and doing repairs that time. We also have other cats in our home. Took him home on 4th day. That is when the journey to recovery began. It took 8 months for him to be completed cured. Blood test shown that, incidentally also shown he is FIV positive. He lost his tail but he is all well. His weight jumped from 2++ kg to 7 kg.
During the eight months, he has good appetite. Fed his meds (not generic sporo capsules) I sprinkled it in his favourite FF Royal Fine Flakes with gravy throughout. Continue on antibiotic whenever his immune is down. Most of all we love him and let him know that he is wanted and love. We talk to him all the time; positive stuff telling him how much we want him to live and we will not abandon him.
Povidone iodine Betadine antiseptic solution was my armor when I handled and clean him. His wounds was sprayed with Magtox Veterinary Herbal Spray which stinked and stained clothes and his fur. He hated the smell. But he relented as I suspect he want to live more than anything. He has hope.
One day after the 5th month his 'clown nose' disappeared and so was all the sores on his back, his paws, head and his tail had dropped off. His tail bone is visible up to now but he is as good looking as ever. He is our pride and joy and are still with us to this day.
Our take on this experience is to have positive thoughts and vibes and have faith. There is a Greater power than ourselves out there. The Universe!
Read about so many sad stories about sporo cats; that is why I decided to e-mail you Dr. Chan. We prefer to be invisible as it is hard to do what we do. Many are resentful for what we do for the felines. They think it is a waste of our money and think we are crazy. That is why we shun publicity. We do it for our souls. Remembered someone wise once said " When you focus too much on the external the internal suffers".
Just to share with you Dr. Chan as you are gifted with the gift of an educator. Just another view to share with you.
All the best.
We thank the writer of this for sharing her invaluable experience with all of us. May this sharing inspire all of us to do more for our animals, and most importantly, not to give up and to walk that extra mile with them.
This brings to mind again, a friend who had lived in Bali many years ago. During that time, euthanasia was not allowed, so the vets would teach all caregivers how to give palliative care for their animals, no matter how sickly they were. It was there that this friend learnt how to care for paralysed animals, and she is now putting her skills to good use.
When killing is removed as an option, I think it makes life easier for us. We would only be left with one choice - to nurse the animal with all the respect, love and care that s/he deserves, and hope that s/he heals or until s/he decides it is time to let go and leave for a better place.
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