Elderly Cat With Hole In Chest Saved by Woman Who Refused to Give Up On Him

In March, a Little Rock, Arkansas, rescuer received a call about two kittens found in a tire swing at a daycare center.

However, when she arrived, she found something far more disturbing…

Keep reading to find out how this chance encounter turned into a rescue mission!

A shocking discovery

Sarah Richardson, a cat rescuer for Community Cats of Central AR, arrived at the daycare to save two kittens found in a tire swing.

The kittens were found safe and sound, but Sarah still needed to find their mother.

Sarah set a humane trap to catch the mother, but what she caught was not the mother.

Instead, she caught another cat.

When Sarah took a closer look at the cat, she was shocked.

A life of suffering

The cat was in critical condition.

Upon closer inspection, Sarah realized that this cat was in urgent need of medical attention.

She took him home and treated him for fleas, ticks, and parasites.

Then she gave her a name: Rixie.

Sarah says, “He was completely infested with parasites. I had never seen anything like it!

The more Sarah looked at him, the more wounds she noticed on his poor frail body.

“He was bleeding from his ears. My heart broke just looking at him,” Sarah shared.

*WARNING: Some readers may find the images of the cat’s injuries graphic*.

On the verge of death

After taking him to the vet, she discovered that he had abscesses on his ears and the back of his head.

After sedating him, the vet discovered that he also had a large abscess on his chest.

The vet was surprised that he survived as long as he did.

“The vet said he was a few days away from dropping dead. We caught him just in time,” Sarah told National Kitty.

His injuries were likely due to an attack by a large animal.

Fortunately, there was still hope!

The vet drained the abscesses and Rixie was sent to her new foster home to recover.

A picky eater

“The first week, we weren’t sure he would survive,” says Sarah.

To make matters worse, Rixie was having trouble eating.

He was in so much pain from his injuries and so weak from hunger that he could barely stand.

He could still move enough to sniff food but kept rejecting it.

“We were going to use an IV, but I finally found a can of food that he could eat,” says Sarah. “He wouldn’t eat any kind, he would only eat tuna.”

Rixie was a feral cat who was estimated by the vet to be over 10 years old.

So Sarah thinks he didn’t recognize cat food as real food.

When Sarah finally found a way to get him to eat, he started gaining weight and energy!

On the road to recovery

Now that Rixie has been under Sarah’s care for over two months, he has regained much of his strength.

However, he’s not completely out of the woods yet.

He is eating regularly and has been rid of his ticks and fleas.

“His hole in his chest is now almost closed, and he is healing,” Sarah said. “His head abscess looks phenomenal. It’s completely gone!”

Although Rixie’s personality is still a little rough around the edges due to his wild state, he is on his way to becoming healthy and socialized.

Sarah wanted to keep him safe, but also didn’t want to completely deprive him of the environment he lived in for so many years.

She found the perfect solution. She placed him in his catio behind her house.

“I think he’s living his best life compared to where he was before,” Sarah said. “But, he’s still a little picky about eating.”

Happily Ever After

While Rixie is a noble and independent cat, he is still learning to accept the love and affection of humans.

With each passing day, he becomes more comfortable with Sarah and her family.

This is the first time in ten years that he has received real love.

As he continues to recover, Rixie’s unique personality grows stronger every day.

Thanks to Sarah’s hard work and determination, he is alive and safe!

About our heroine

Sarah Richardson is one of the few people in Arkansas who rescues elderly cats with special needs.

Without Sarah, cats like Rixie would be euthanized or die a painful death on the streets.

Source image: nationalkitty.com

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