Our poor Bella

rang_27

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We had a little cat (8-9 months old) surrendered to us a few weeks ago. The people who gave her up stated they had rescued her from an abusive home. When she came her front paws were a little funny. A trip to the vet revieled that both of little Bella's legs had been broken & never repaired. The breaks are at least a month old. Now we are faced with attempting to raise the $2,000 to have Bella's legs fixed by an orthipidic vet. Send vibes for this sweet little girl, she will need them.

Here is her Petfinder Link
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/dis...petid=13698880
 

opilot

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I live in the No. Va area near DC.
God almighty what people will do to animals....

or not do for them I should say.

I just took in a flame pt male siamese from
a feral colony posted about him a few days ago...

3 broken and/or missing teeth, bad dental disease,
and prob. had things thrown at him. Poor baby
he cannot believe he is home, safe and will never need
to hide or run again!!

And he's FIV+ because they never fixed him who
ever owned him before... simplests kindest thing
to do for an animal.

I think I've fixed over 50 cats and rehomed them
by now.... I've stopped counting. One cat or 2 at
a time, they found homes, were given to rescues,
and so on...

Its such sad draining work. I look at Harley the flame
point and I want to cry. I think of my 20 ferals at
the colony I've done... and that I feed each day,
and the 12 who patiently wait for me to come to
feed them there every single night,
who live in the rubber maid shelters
concealed in the high grasses behind the shed
they use, and the winter shelters by the shed
that they can't use in summer because there is
too much activity there... I sigh, and I know
they are LUCKY.... that they
have the shelters at all....and so double blessed
I am in their little lives.

I just pulled another cat out of the drains, 4/6 mos
of age and gave her to someone I hope will give her
a good home. I"m praying my instincts were right,
that she will do okay.... god do I hope so.

Its better than her living in the parking lots drains
and breeding endlessly.... food shelter and a box.
What more could she ask for I guess....

and yet, I know my limitations. One at a time, one at
a time...

Vibes for the flame point with FIV finding a home.
Please...
 
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rang_27

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Bella has now been to an orthopedic specialist. This vet felt she jumped, fell or was thrown from a very high height and that is how she broke her legs. Unfortunately for Bella not only are the bones in her legs broken, but there is also some ligement damage. I'm not sure exactly what the damage is, but I know that the estimate from this vet is $3,000 - $4,000 per leg. We would get a discount because we are a shelter. So we are now on the hunt for a second opinon, and possibly a vet that is willing to give us a bigger discount. Please send lots of good vibes for Bella, she will need them as she faces these traumatic surgeries.
 

ktlynn

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Poor baby - I hope what caused this was an accident, and not the result of abuse by some despicable person. Does the vet think she's currently in pain? Bad enough to have a broken leg, but two...

Lots of good wishes going out to little Bella.
Hope you'll find a vet soon to get the surgery done. Please keep us posted.
 
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rang_27

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She is so sweet! I hope she is not in a lot of pain, but it's hard to tell right now as she is in heat. We will be getting her spayed ASAP! She was supposed to go in today or tomorrow, but went into heat Saturday night. I'm not sure if the vet we work with will spay her for us or not. Being a shelter we get a deal on fixing cats, but I'm not sure how they handle a cat in heat for a shelter? At a minimum poor Bella (Or Bella Boo as I call her) has been the victim of neglect. There is also the possibility that someone tried to declaw her on their own, but of coarse we have no proof of what really happend. We only know the existing damage & that she needs to be put back together.
 
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rang_27

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Originally Posted by Rang_27

We had a little cat (8-9 months old) surrendered to us a few weeks ago. The people who gave her up stated they had rescued her from an abusive home. When she came her front paws were a little funny. A trip to the vet revieled that both of little Bella's legs had been broken & never repaired. The breaks are at least a month old. Now we are faced with attempting to raise the $2,000 to have Bella's legs fixed by an orthipidic vet. Send vibes for this sweet little girl, she will need them.

Here is her Petfinder Link
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/dis...petid=13698880
Just giving this a bump because we have had a lot of updates to Bella's Pet Finder site. Turns out it will be $6,000 to $8,000 to fix her. We have enough to take care of the first leg, but we are still looking to raise more funds for the second leg. Please take a look at her & forward her information to people who would be interested in her story.
 
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rang_27

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Just another update. We now have about $6,500 just for her. We are still trying to raise the remainder, but at least now if we fall short it won't be such a blow to our finances to help her out. We also have her an appointment scheduled for her 1st surgery on Septemper 30th. Please send lots of vibes, as this is a complex procedure.
 
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rang_27

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For those following Bella's story, I just wanted to do a quick update. She left to go to the UW Madison Vet School this morning. She will be with them today so that they can do any additional x-rays or other diagnostics as needed. Then tomorrow is her big day. She will have her first surgery. I got teary eyed yesterday as I gave her a kiss on the head and told her that I love her. Please pray & send vibes for Bella.

To Bella, we are sorry you have to go through this additional pain. We love you and are trying to do what is best for your. Stay strong, pull through & come back to us so that we can get you the home you truly deserve.
 

krazy kat2

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Poor Bella! I am praying she recovers and finds a loving home.
The people that did this to her should be taken out, shot in both knees and left to fend for themselves.
 

icklemiss21

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Fingers crossed for her today

We had a similar case not that long ago, two cats "found wrapped in a blanket on the side of the road" both with old injuries, not just broken but shattered bones.

It cost us a fair bit and we ended up amputating the leg on one and tail on the other as the vet wasnt sure we could ever fix it, especially with kittens that dont understand the concept of cage rest but it was all worth it to see them go home and be happy
 
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rang_27

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So the last I heard was that Bella would be taken into surgery early in the afternoon. The surgery is supposed to last about 3 hours. Then she will stay with them until Saturday at the earliest. I'm at work trying to concentrate & just can't stop thinking about her. She's not even my cat, but I have grown very attatched to this little sweet heart.

On a side note she stole hearts at the vet hospital yesterday. She went through 4 hours of testing & not once got crabby with the vets. They all think she is adorable & has a great personality. She even had one vet tech student asking, "Will she be avaialble for adoption after she is all better & if yes how do you think she would do with a dog." Everyone just couldn't believe how wonderful she was.
 
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rang_27

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UPDATE -- She made it through surgery. The surgery it's self took about 2 hours. She now has 8 screws and a metal plate fusing her foot straight so that she will eventually be able to walk on it. If the rest of her healing process goes well we will be able to pick her up on Saturday. For anyone intrested she is on Facebook. I believe she is under Bella Happyendings. I will take a look tonight & if I'm wrong I'll update. Now comes the difficult part for her little body. It's time to heal.
 
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rang_27

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I went with on Saturday morning to pick her up from the vet. I almost cried when I saw how well she was doing. They put her down on the floor & she practically ran to us. She is able to use the other paw more than expected. They want to wait 10-12 weeks for the healing to be complete & then decide what to do about the other leg. I never cease to be amazed by how resiliant these little animals are. If that were a person, they would complain about the pain & about the loss of movement in the paw, but not our Bella. She is just ready to get moving!
 

otto

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I avoided this thread at first, because I was afraid of what I would read. I can't bear to read graphic details of abuse. So I thank you for keeping things vague, I was in tears reading, and trying hard not to let my imagination fill in the blanks, but now I am in tears of joy over the way things are going for Bella.

You people who work in rescue have my highest admiration and gratitude. I am not cut out for it, but am so grateful for the people who are, and who do.

I will continue to follow Bella's story.
 
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rang_27

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Well having a splint with a bandage has not stoped Bella from trying to drink off of her paw. She has had to have her bandage changed at least once because she keeps trying to dunk that paw in the water & lick the water off. That is how she drinks and apparently she's not going to let some silly bandage get in the way of what she wants.
 

otto

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Originally Posted by Rang_27

Well having a splint with a bandage has not stoped Bella from trying to drink off of her paw. She has had to have her bandage changed at least once because she keeps trying to dunk that paw in the water & lick the water off. That is how she drinks and apparently she's not going to let some silly bandage get in the way of what she wants.
Aww...she sounds like a real determined one. A Survivor for sure.
 
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