UPDATE: January 5, 2018 We received wonderful news! Read what Oreo's mom has to say: Hello! I just wanted to thank you and the Fur Kids Foundation once more for helping me with my kitties! Oreo has made full recovery and is back to living his regular lazy life!! If it weren’t for you guys my Oreo wouldn’t have made it! God bless! This is Oreo, a very sweet 9-month-old kitty. Oreo’s mom is a single mother who recently lost her job. She thought she was doing what was best for her kitties, Oreo and Peaches (who were brothers) by purchasing vaccines at a local ag store to give to them at home. Then Peaches got terribly sick and she took him to the vet. Oreo’s mom originally applied for assistance for Peaches, and Fur Kids Foundation helped with his initial vet visit, which resulted in him being diagnosed with Distemper (read more about this horrible disease in our success story blog about Luna). Peaches was so sick from Distemper that the vet recommended euthanasia. Oreo’s mom, heartbroken over losing Peaches, was devastated when she came home to see Oreo showing the same signs as Peaches. She called Fur Kids Foundation again, and we told her to take Oreo in to a vet immediately, where he was also diagnosed with Distemper. The vet said while Oreo's mom was trying to do right by vaccinating them at home, there are many variables when purchasing over-the-counter vaccines, including knowing if they are expired or close to expiring, knowing if they are properly stored, and also knowing the health of the animal you are going to give the vaccine to. Before purchasing an over-the-counter vaccination and giving it to your pet, it’s best to visit with your vet and get your pet a full exam. The estimate for Oreo's vet treatment was well over $1,300—something his mom knew she couldn't afford. She chose to try an at-home treatment, which did help to lower the unexpected bill, but isn't recommended for all pet owners. Luckily, Oreo’s mom and vet caught the disease early enough and Oreo is making a full recovery. He will continue to be quarantined from the family and other cats until he is healthy enough. Fur Kids Foundation is grateful for the dedication of our volunteers and supporters who have helped local families stay happy and healthy, and together! If you would like to help Fur Kids Foundation continue to help families in Campbell County, Wyoming with animals, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. The money helps families during a time when they may not be able to afford adequate veterinary care. Check out more Success Stories.
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Check out Buddy, a 5-year-old Maltese Shih Tzu mix (also known as the Mal-Shi, Malti zu, or the Malt-Tzu). Recently, Buddy wasn’t acting like himself. He was limping, acting sluggish, and would whine when she picked him up. Buddy is his mom’s best friend, and she would do anything for him. While Buddy’s mom can provide his basic care, and unexpected veterinary visit wasn’t in her budget. But, poor Buddy was clearly not feeling well, so she took him to the vet. At the vet, Buddy had an ultrasound and an exam, and the vet determined Buddy had a UTI—urinary tract infection. UTI’s are actually quite common in dogs, but it can be quite painful, so it’s important to know what to watch for in your pooch. When dogs get UTIs, they may strain or have difficulty urinating, it may be painful for them to urinate, and they may have blood in their urine, which you can see because the urine has an orange or pink color to it. If your otherwise house-trained pup starts going potty inside the house unexpectedly, that can be another sign. If your dog shows some of these signs, please take then to the vet: • Breaking housetraining • Blood in the urine • Crying out while urinating • Dribbling urine • Frequently or obsessively licking the genital area • Frequent urination • Straining to urinate Thankfully, all Buddy needed was some medication, and his mom reports that he’s already feeling better. Fur Kids Foundation was recently awarded a $3,500 grant from the Banfield Foundation® to be used to help the Gillette, Wyoming charity with their emergency veterinary assistance program. This funding helped the Foundation grant money to help Buddy’s family with the vet visit. If you would like to help Fur Kids Foundation continue to help families with animals, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. The money helps families during a time when they may not be able to afford adequate veterinary care. Check out more Success Stories. This is Bear, a 4-year-old Newfoundland Mix. Some of you may recognize this handsome escape artist as Fur Kids Foundation helped Bear’s family last December when he and his sister were gallivanting around Gillette, resulting in Bear being hit by a car. FKF (and Bear’s family) were hoping he would have learned his lesson, but it sounds like he may still be getting into things he shouldn’t.
Bear’s family came home to him a mess in their house recently – and, the culprit was Bear. He had a punctured foot, and was bleeding all over. His family tried the best they could to stop the bleeding on their own, but realized he needed to see a vet when they couldn’t get it stopped. At the vet, Bear was sedated and received stitches—as well as that dreaded cone of shame—but is slated to make a full recovery. Bear’s mom is a single mom with three children, and this unexpected bill was more than she could afford. She applied to Fur Kids Foundation, and we were able to help. Fur Kids Foundation was recently awarded a $3,500 grant from the Banfield Foundation® to be used to help the Gillette, Wyoming charity with their emergency veterinary assistance program. This funding helped the Foundation grant money to help Bear’s family with the vet visit. If you would like to help Fur Kids Foundation continue to help families with animals, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. The money helps families during a time when they may not be able to afford adequate veterinary care. Check out more Success Stories. This beautiful boy is Opie, a 10-month-old kitten who was having some serious tummy troubles. Opie’s mom noticed that her spunky kitty wasn’t feeling so great. He suddenly started having diarrhea so bad that he couldn't make it to the litter box. His mom was so scared that Opie may have Distemper, so she took him to the vet immediately. While they were at the vet, Opie was tested for distemper, feline leukemia, and heart worm; and thankfully everything came back negative! It likely means that Opie got into something he wasn't supposed to, or may have picked up some kitty germs that upset his belly. Poor Opie was given some Subcutaneous (SQ) fluids, which means he was given some fluids into some space under the skin so they can be absorbed into the blood and body slowly, as well as some medication to help his belly settle down. Opie’s visit to the vet was an unexpected bill for his mom, who has been without work for quite a while. She was recently offered a new job, but is far behind on some other bills. She applied to Fur Kids Foundation to help with Opie’s emergency vet visit, and we were happy to help. Fur Kids Foundation was recently awarded a $3,500 grant from the Banfield Foundation® to be used to help the Gillette, Wyoming charity with their emergency veterinary assistance program. This funding helped the Foundation grant money to help Opie’s family with the vet visit. If you would like to help Fur Kids Foundation continue to help families with animals, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. The money helps families during a time when they may not be able to afford adequate veterinary care. Check out more Success Stories. Say hello to Luna, a 7-month-old kitten.
Recently, Luna's parents decided to become cat people—and adopted Luna from a rescue. Shortly after, they adopted another kitten from an animal shelter. Unfortunately, a few days after adopting the new kitten, she passed away unexpectedly. Her parents assumed she was sick, but didn’t know how sick she was. The next day, Luna became very ill. She was sluggish, vomiting, and had diarrhea—her parents knew that something was very wrong with their sweet kitty, and took her to the vet as soon as they could. At the vet, they learned that Luna had distemper, which may have been passed onto Luna from the other rescue kitten. In early December, both Animal Medical Center of Wyoming and Red Hills Veterinary Hospital posted warnings about cats in their clinics presenting with panleukopenia, also known as distemper and feline parvovirus. And, if any of you follow Hanna Shaw, better known as the Kitten Lady, she is currently helping a kitten (Hank) through this disease as well (and showing people how to help their kittens survive this disease). For those who don’t know, distemper is lethal. This highly contagious virus attacks cats’ intestines, just like the parviovirus does in dogs. Cats can get infected when they come into contact with infected bodily fluids (blood, nasal discharge, saliva, urine), feces, or fleas that have been feeding from an infected cat. It is a very hardy virus can easily be carried on shoes and human clothing into your household. This virus is resistant to disinfectant and can remain in the environment for as long as a year, waiting for an opportunity. (So, even indoor cats that are not current on Feline Distemper Vaccination can be infected.) The virus can also be passed along by people who have not washed their hands appropriately between handling cats, or by materials such as bedding, food dishes or equipment that has been used on other cats. (Washing your hands with soap and water directly after handling any animal will minimize the chance of passing infections to healthy animals.) Signs of feline distemper include: • Complete loss of interest in food • Dehydration • Diarrhea/blood in the stool • Difficulty walking, weakness or loss of balance/uncoordinated movements • Excessive sneezing and a runny nose • Eyes are running and watery • High fever (over 104 degrees) • Loss of energy and excessive sleep • Vomiting • Weight loss • Withdrawl, or hiding themselves If your pet is showing any of these symptoms, take them to the vet immediately! There is no cure for panleukopenia—and without treatment from a vet your beloved pet will die. The best way to avoid your kitten or cat getting infected is to prevent the disease with a vaccination. Kittens between the ages of two to six months are at highest risk for developing severe disease symptoms, as well as pregnant cats and immune compromised cats. In adult cats, usually occurs in mild form and may even go unnoticed. Fortunately, cats that survive this infection are immune to any further infection with this virus. If you have a kitten/cat that needs their vaccination, schedule it today. Luna’s dad’s hours had been cut significantly, and her mom had recently undergone an extensive hip surgery causing the family to have some high medical bills. The $1,300+ vet bill to help Luna get better was much more than they expected, and much more than they could afford. They applied to Fur Kids Foundation for help with Luna's emergency veterinary care, and we were happy to help. Luna stayed at the vet clinic for a few days, and received treatment for her distemper. Luckily she was able to make a full recovering and is back at home being a kitten again. Fur Kids Foundation was recently awarded a $3,500 grant from the Banfield Foundation® to be used to help the Gillette, Wyoming charity with their emergency veterinary assistance program. This funding helped the Foundation grant money to help Luna's family with the vet visit. If you would like to help Fur Kids Foundation continue to help families with animals, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. The money helps families during a time when they may not be able to afford adequate veterinary care. Check out more Success Stories. Are you using the Wooftrax Walk for a Dog app that benefits Fur Kids Foundation? If so, we could earn a $1,000 donation, sponsored by Zoetis, for Fur Kids Foundation. Join the Steps for Pet Health challenge today on the Walk for a Dog app and take at least 10 walks by January 31, 2018, and one of your walks in the challenge could be the winning walk. It's easy to do and you're walking your dog anyway! (Right?) Also win some fun treats for yourself as well! The details are below... #StepsforPetHealth. Steps for Pet Health Challenge
It's easy to participate! Simply join the challenge from the challenge tab of the Walk for a Dog app and your next walk could score an EXTRA instant $1,000 donation for your selected donation—and a fun treat for yourself. All for just getting outside with your dog! We will email details and updates on the challenge after you join, so be sure to regularly check your email. Complete the challenge by taking at least 10 walks by January 31, 2018, and your chosen animal organization could win $1,000—sponsored by Zoetis. Every walk you take during the challenge is an entry to win the $1,000 grand prize donation or one of a number of smaller donations.* Share the challenge with your friends. The more people walking for your chosen animal organization, the more likely that organization could earn $1,000. It is that easy. And you are walking your pup anyway! (Right?) Challenge Bonus: Read the Pet Health Tips in your challenge update emails for a chance to earn cash towards your next vet visit. *Walks greater than 1/4 of a mile count in the challenge. Up to three (3) walks per day will count toward challenge prizes and donations. The news is in: quite a herd of you joined Fur Kids Foundation at Kitty Cats and Cupcakes on Saturday at Alla Lala Cupcakes and Sweet Things, helping us raise $150!
Thank you to everyone who supported this first-time event! We had a great time visiting with you about your kitties, and learning wonderful information from Dr. Diane Ernst and Leisa Martin from Animal Medical Center Of Wyoming. A special thank you to Alla Lala for donating 25% of all cupcake sales from the day back to Fur Kids Foundation, and Jackson Galaxy for donating a signed copy of his book, "Catify to Satisfy" for our door prize. We'd like to extend a huge thank you to our volunteer, Megan McManamen for putting on this purrrrfect event. If you would like to sign your kitty up for a KitNipBox, click here to learn how part of your purchase will come back to Fur Kids Foundation! And, you can read more about the event in County 17's article. |
Welcome to the Fur Kids Foundation blog archive that features inspiring stories of pets and people! Get inspired by these amazing furry tales of recovery and hope! All because someone like YOU cared.
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