Page 26 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2017

Lollipop: The Final Frontier Homeless to HomeGurl
With a light heart I bring you the last chapter in the saga of Lollipop, survivor extraordinaire. Hers is a tale of kitty woe and su ering, hardship and loss, penultimate despair, and just when it seemed that all was lost, rescue and compassion. We really ought to make a movie.
Actually, we did. As I look back at the video taken during Lolli’s first hour with us, I’m appalled at her emaciation and weakness. She struggles to support herself as she trembles over a plate of food, desperately taking the first meal she’s eaten in a long, long time. She weighed 1.85 pounds when she came to us. As I think back to her condition, and the fear she showed when we first handled her, it is clear that Lollipop had been on her own for months. Lost and alone, she ran away from people until she could run no longer. It was only then, too weak and powerless to do anything else, that she allowed herself to be picked up by the strangers whose kindness made the first step in saving her life.
And yet, Lollipop was never a truly feral cat. Someone had held Lolli, and loved her, when she was very young. Otherwise, she would never have been
able to develop relationships with me and my sta . Kittens must be handled and socialized prior to sixteen weeks of age to interact with humans. If this critical period is missed, a kitten loses the ability to develop social capabilities needed
to become a fully domesticated cat. It is clear that Lollipop came into this world
as someone’s beloved kitty. How she became lost, and was forced to try (without success) to adapt to the life of a wild cat, is a mystery that will never be solved. But without that early exposure to human handling, Lolli could never have been held or nurtured. She would have been incapable of becoming the loving house cat that she is today.
The list of Lollipop’s saviors is a long one. There were the three strangers
who picked her up o the street and took on the responsibility of finding help
for her. My sta members, Susie Cederlof, Virginia Perlman, and especially Kristen Kerfoot (who nursed Lolli every weekend) and her partner Nate, whose quiet patience made him the first man Lollipop ever approached on her own
and befriended, are among them. There were nearly a dozen strangers, few of whom ever met Lolli, who sent donations (some considerable) to help defray her medication costs. Finally, there are Sheldon and Cathy, who accepted Lollipop into their home and patiently allowed her to acclimate to strange new surroundings and become their friend. May you all be blessed.
Lollipop’s list of ailments is equally long. When we met she su ered from roundworms, tapeworms, coccidiosis, toxoplasmosis, ringworm, and eas. She
had several infected wounds, including one large abscess on her neck that simply refused to go away despite surgery and several courses of antibiotic. It took over three months on special diets and probiotic supplements to resolve her diarrhea. When she was finally healthy enough to vaccinate and spay, we re-explored the infection cavity in her neck and removed a large fish hook! This surely originated in her throat and worked its way through the tissue of her neck before we were able to locate and remove it. Poor Lolli!
26 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 4/17
I saw Lollipop one week ago (a visit for her final vaccination booster). She now weighs 8.5 pounds (460% of her initial state)! Lolli is now the plump and playful, bed-sleeping, table-clearing, paper towel-shredding, spoiled rotten, and completely cherished kitty that she was born to be, the nightmare of her past life far behind her.
But all bad things come to an end. After four months in the hospital, Lollipop was finally ready to make the final hurdle. It was time for our little girl to matriculate from hospital life and establish a real kitty life in a real home. Sheldon and Cathy, whose beloved kitties (aged 16 and 20 years) had recently died, were identified by my sta as the perfect kitty parents for Lollipop. Even though they had su ered recent loss, they were willing to accept Lolli into their home. She was terrified, of course, and hid in the closet for a couple of days, but Cathy and Sheldon’s patience and understanding won Lollipop over quickly. She has now become a full- edged house cat!
Everyone loves a happy ending.