Rescuing Crow: Helping a Homeless Kitty get Healthy
Crow came into VOKRA’s care in February 2022 when residents in his neighbourhood noticed his ears were bleeding. He’d been living outside for an extended period of time and his ears were collapsed, bleeding and infected, and were also full of mites. In addition, he had several fractured or missing teeth. There was evidence he’d been in a lot of fights as he was unfixed, which added to his ear pain. Crow’s general attitude was depressed, scared and defeated. At an estimated five years old, we don’t know how long he was living on the streets, but it’s clear he’s had a hard life and we’ll show him as much care and love as possible.
“His ears are likely disfigured due to fighting with other tomcats in the neighbourhood, as well as frostbite. Unfortunately, we see this type of condition, called cauliflower ear, often among stray males,” says Kathryn Melnyk, VOKRA’s medical team lead. “His bald patches are also likely due to fighting, poor nutrition and exposure.”
When cats are rescued by VOKRA it’s common for them not to be fixed. We see this a lot with pregnant females during kitten season. While most people are aware of the effects of unfixed females, they may not realize how difficult it is for intact males to thrive on their own due to heightened hormones. This determines the quality of life for themselves as well as the other animals they attract, repel and get territorial against.
Benefits of Neutering your Cat
In a nutshell, neutered cats experience less health and behaviour problems, and they also help reduce cat overpopulation.
Health benefits:
Neutering prevents testicular cancer.
Neutered/spayed animals live longer.
Neutering prevents accidental pregnancies.
Neutering decreases the risk of cats contracting diseases such as FIV which is primarily spread through deep bite wounds. This type of fighting behaviour is associated with mating when males fight aggressively for territory and female - a male will also bite the back of a female's neck during mating. Similarly, FelV is readily spread through deep bite wounds, as well as through prolonged contact with nasal secretions, urine and feces of an infected cat.
Behavioural benefits:
Neutering eliminates the ability to reproduce so the desire goes away
Male cats will do anything to find a mate and being fixed will stop him roaming to find a female in heat. This will also prevent him from trying to escape his home, risking injury due to hazards such as traffic and wild predators.
Being fixed means better behaved cats
Males no longer have the drive to aggressively protect their territories.
They’re less likely to mark their territory by spraying urine over their space.
He’ll be less frustrated and likely become a calmer companion.
Community benefits:
Neutering helps reduce the number of stray or unwanted animals in the community.
What’s Next for Crow
Since being rescued, Crow has been neutered, microchipped, had his ears looked at and had three teeth removed. He’ll need additional work done on his teeth, including getting dental x-rays and likely some additional extractions. His bloodwork also shows signs he’s in the early stages of kidney disease so this will be something that needs to be monitored.
“He’s doing really well with allowing people to be near him now that he’s feeling a bit better,” says Karen Duncan, VOKRA co-founder. “He’s become a very popular guy at our Operations Centre.”
Crow will be a happier cat now that he’s neutered and doesn’t’ need to worry about fending for himself. He’ll no longer have a desire to seek out females to mate with or get into fights with other cats over territory. It’ll take some time for Crow to fully recover and get used to people, but this sweet boy is on the road to a happier, easy life full of love, care and positive attention.
Veterinary bills account for more than 50% of our annual budget. Want to help out? Sign up to Walk for the Kitties this May and help raise much needed funds to pay for medical care for kitties like Crow. Learn more here.
Don’t want to walk? Donate instead.