8/11/14 – On July 21, 2014 4p1h received the following private message:

“Hi my name is Jennie. I was told to contact you and see if you can help me in any way. About a month or so ago I was surprised to see a cat show up in my garage. A very skinny and sick orange and white cat. I am guessing her age is 7-8 months but I could be wrong. She was very scared of people so I thought she was a wild kitty. Well I was wrong. It only took 2 days and she was the most loving kitty. And her and my puppy were best friends instantly. I believe somebody had just dropped her off. I started feeding her and was hoping she would get better but she is not. I am pretty sure she has a upper respiratory infection. I can’t take her to the vet due to my husband being laid off for so long. And I am scared to bring her in not knowing exactly what is wrong and don’t want my 2 inside cats to catch it. I feel so bad for her. I cry and feel so guilty because she is such a good girl and asks to come in an I can’t. I am scared one morning I am going to go outside and she is going to have passed away. I have talked to many vets and nobody is willing to work with me. And I have tried asking other groups but again they all say they are to full or they dont have the funding. So I am hoping you can help or know another group that might. Thank you so much.” ~ Jenny S,

Well, once again, I could not say no.  I felt bad for not only the sweet cat who was suffering but for Jenny because she obviously wanted to help but couldn’t afford it.  The first challenge was finding a vet who would work with us and trust that I would pay the bill if they would see the cat (now named Dusty) now.  As Jenny said, many would not BUT we found some wonderful people at the Animal Health Associates Hospital in Mt. Pleasant who was willing to work with us.  Dusty was given an appointment, treated for an upper respiratory infection, tested, and, low and behold, she was found to be pregnant.  Of course this meant her treatment had to be adjusted accordingly.  After a few days on the medication, Dusty still continued to have labored breathing so she was brought back in by Jenny – even though the hospital is a good 45 minutes from her home and money for gas was very limited.

Dusty has been doing well and is being watched closely by Jenny and her family.  We will keep everyone updated when she has her family. If you are in the Mt. Pleasant, Michigan area, please consider the Animal Health Associates for your veterinary needs.~ diana