Rusty was a pretty sad sight when he first arrived into BAWCS care, with a large open wound on his head and a damaged eye. While he was happy to have a loving pat and keen to get some attention, it was obvious this poor boy was in pain. As fate would have it, he had found himself at Central Victoria’s only “No Kill” shelter and he was in safe hands. He was immediately taken to our vet who suspected the head wound was an abscess which had been untreated. The eye had a very painful and deep seated ulcer, leaving the only option to remove the eye. A blood test also revealed a further challenge, he was FIV positive.
FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is a feline disease which weakens the immune system and is most commonly spread through deep bite wounds that usually occur outdoors during aggressive cat fights.
Rusty underwent surgery to remove his damaged eye and repair his head wound. A flap of skin was stitched over the wound on his head but it was unknown if this would be successful given the size of the area. Rusty came through the surgery well however he was left with quite a few stitches and a drainage tube.
A return visit to the vet confirmed that the skin flap hadn’t worked but the skin around the area appeared to be healing. A second surgery was undertaken and this time the stitches held and over time, the wound healed and revealed a very playful and vibrant young cat.
It was a long road of recovery for Rusty, but we never doubted that the process would be worth it…and he reminds us every day! Rusty is currently sharing with our group of “office cats” at the BAWCS Shelter, where he entertains us with his antics, sometimes his playfulness proving to be a little too much for the more mature “Pumpkin”.
Rusty is available for adoption now and ready to start his new life. If you would be interested in adopting this special boy, you can view his profile here.
