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Gus was born in 1993 and rescued in
2001 by AFA. We received a call from a fellow who was USDA
licensed, like we are, but could no longer keep his animals due
to personal circumstances. He said that he wouldn't be able to
find a home for Gus due to his advanced age, and the fact that
Gus had been sick. The old cat had seen the vet once several
months earlier and was put on a course of antibiotics and sent
home. The man assured me that Gus didn't have anything
"contagious" and that he was on the mend. He also said that
Gus looked worse than he actually was. Gus also reportedly
didn't like men. After pondering it a bit, it was decided that
we would try to make room for Gus.
When Gus was delivered, I couldn't
believe my eyes- or my nose, for that matter!! Hunched over in
a medium sized carrier was a lifeless scrawny cat. His eyes
were sunken in and glazed over, and he smelled so bad that I
gagged and had to open the window on the drive home. I took a
detour and met our vet after paging him. There we raced to keep
him alive and figure out what was going on. Gus weighed a mere
20 pounds! His fur was coarse and falling out, and he was
terribly dehydrated and weak. He had severe diarrhea, and I
could feel every bone in his body. Several times our vet and I
discussed putting Gus down, but there seemed to be a glimmer of
hope in Gus' eyes. We ran test after test until we finally
concluded that Gus was allergic to poultry (his main source of
food), and that he also had EPI (exocrine pancreatic
insufficiency). This meant that he lacked the enzymes needed to
digest his food. Gus was basically starving to death. I was
appalled that he hadn't received proper veterinary care! After
10 days at the animal hospital, we brought him to his new home.
He was painfully thin. Although he would fall over if you
gently nudged him, he was slowly gaining some strength back.
Gus was kept on a diet of whole
rabbits (a costly endeavor), and given daily medicine for about
6 months. Strangely, although he still is fed a lot of rabbit,
his body began to adapt to chicken again and he is now able to
eat it without getting terribly sick. He has also been weaned
off of the medication with no ill effects. Today Gus weighs 42
pounds and lives with Canadian lynx Kodiak. He is a doll,
despite what his previous owner says. He is very affectionate
and a purr monster. Other than backing up to you and spraying
you, he really has no bad vices. AFA is very proud to tell Gus'
story. We are blessed with his presence!
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