“My Precious!”
Belinda Davies has never been to the Misty Mountains and she doesn’t have a magic ring, but the Nanoose Bay resident is hoping someone in the community will step forward and say that phrase in the near future.
Precious, in this case, is a cat, found on the side of a road, dragging herself along with her front paws, her hind end completely paralyzed.
Picked up by a kind stranger and taken to a vet in Nanaimo, Precious, as she was later named, was clearly no feral cat — one of the reasons why the veterinarian refused to euthanized the badly damaged feline.
As luck would have it, Davies, who works as a volunteer with Nanoose Bay CatSpan, was in the Nanaimo vet clinic at the time and she agreed the cat needed a second chance and pledged that her group would do what it could for Precious.
It was a tall order.
“Her injuries are older, maybe two or three years or older,” Davies said. “She’s in excellent condition, clean, well looked after, but she had no control of bowel or bladder, so someone was clearly taking care of her. Her initial diagnosis was complete back end paralysis, likely caused by being hit by a car.”
The CatSpan team pondered why Precious had been abandoned after being cared for so well, for so long.
“Our guess is that this was an older person who might have ended up in the hospital or in a home,” Davies said. “It’s like, overnight her caregiver was no longer available and someone dropped the cat off overnight.”
That was in mid-August, and it appears the last-minute reprieve was the right decision to make, as the cat has made significant progress.
“She has great upper torso strength,” Davies said. “She is truly an amazing cat, full of spirit and love.
She has managed to gain some timing, so now Precious will only express her bladder when she has a diaper on. She seems to know that, so there are no accidents.
“As well, bowel movements are timed and regular and CatSpan volunteers have made some pretty diapers for her.”
That progress, said fellow CatSpan volunteer Shirley Lee, came partly as a result of free acupuncture treatments offered by a clinic in Courtenay.
“She regained some feeling, she can expand her paws, use of tail and she’s even starting to stand,” she said. “
With the cat well on the way to whatever is going to constitute a recovery, CatSpan is looking for a kind-hearted person to provide Precious with a permanent home.
“We would love to find a loving, caring home, but — for obvious reasons — it has to be a very special home,” Davies said.
“Precious is, without a doubt, a domestic cat, not feral. She’s loving, affectionate and stunningly beautiful, too. She touched our hearts.”
Anyone who has room in their heart and home for Precious can contact Davies at 250-468-0255.
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