8/28/23 – Poison, was an outside stray who showed up in Martha’s backyard in January of 2022. It was bitterly cold and he was crying and crying and he looked very sick. He was foaming at the mouth. Martha was afraid to help him because, as she said “his sickness was so scary”. She named him Poison because she thought maybe he ate a poison rat in that she lived in an area with a huge rat problem. Martha put food for him and he ate a little and then got into and sat down in the dish. The other cats had an abandoned garage that she had put straw in but he didn’t have anything. So, she made a little pad with an old blanket so he could get his feet off the cold cement. Then she ordered a small tent from Amazon for him. A couple of days later she put a heating pad in there for him. The first 5 to 7 days he spent most of meal time chasing the other cats away from the food. He was afraid there wouldn’t be enough. He soon figured there is plenty for everybody. He quit foaming at the mouth but his breathing continued to be awful. Martha was able to get him in a trap and take him to a vet one time but she couldn’t afford all the treatments they wanted to give him. So, they gave him the antibiotic shot and she took him back home where he continued to live outside.

Martha, contacted us in early July. At that time, Poison also had a wound along with his continuing breathing issue. Poison was again trapped and taken to a partner veterinary clinic and was diagnosed with asthma and pneumonia. He also has something in his digestive tract that may have been from liver disease. He had maggots in a wound. The veterinary staff was able to remove all maggots and he was given antibiotics for the wound , medication for his asthma/pneumonia, and medication for flea and ticks. Martha kept Poison inside while she needed to give him medication but then he was again released outside. In mid July, Martha contacted me to report that Poison’s breathing was still bad and he seemed to be failing. After two years of struggling with infections, Martha didn’t think there was much hope. We continued to try and get him the help he needed but he was so difficult for Martha to trap and yesterday Martha messaged me that she found Poison, passed away in her yard. He had been to her porch to eat earlier in the day and seemed fine but we guess his illnesses were just too great. Martha saw Poison’s ‘girlfriend’ sitting by his side as he laid in her yard.

Poison has been buried and he is now in peace, no longer suffering. Please keep Martha in your prayers. So many people, like Martha, spend their own money and work so hard to reduce the over population of animals in our communities. And, then, when they find an ill or injured animal, once again they do everything possible to help. I wish we could have done more. – diana

4paws1heart.org/donations P.O. Box 84, St. Clair Shores, MI. 48080

Thank you so much for the nice memorial on your Facebook page. I love caring for my colony and I feel sad each time one dies. I had 7 cats. Now I have 6. Poison was the king of my backyard and would chase off any new cat that tried to eat at the feeding station. I could not get him nutered because his poor health would not stand the surgery. There are many stray/feral cats around here. Maybe there is room for another to join the colony now. RIP Poison. – Martha