#1 — Solo the true survivor

Welcome to the August edition of the Adopt Meow Newsletter. We’ve been busy trying a few different formats for this newsletter, to share some of the highlights of the rescue work that has taken place each month.

We hope you enjoy these stories from August — and if you’d like to give us a helping hand to help more cats, check out how you can Donate, Foster or Adopt and make a real difference!

Thanks for supporting us and reading our stories. We really appreciate it 💓

This month at Adopt Meow 🐾

• Adoptions: 26
• Rescues: 38
• Sterilizations: 12

🔦 Monthly Spotlight

Solo: A true survivor

Believe it or not the work of rescuing kittens is not always rainbows and butterflies. Although we do our best to intervene and save as many as we can, we believe mother nature has her own way to keep the cat population at bay. However, somehow, we were able to rescue a little one who has beat all the odds and reclaimed his fate, this little boy’s name is Solo.

Finding Solo

It all started in late May when All Animals are Suay (AAAS) alerted us that a litter of 5 kittens, no more than 3 days old, were found abandoned. With no mother cat to be found, we rushed to intervene. The chances of actually saving neonatal kittens in this condition are very slim, but we had to try. Our neonetal volunteer Mike took the litter on and kept them in an incubator (to regulate his temperature), and bottle-fed the kittens every couple of hours. Mike’s generous family all get involved with this, including his children.

Being adopted by a new mother cat

Unfortunately, we lost the entire litter apart from little Solo (hence the name). Luckily, around this time a mother cat had just given birth to a litter so we decided to see if this mother would accept Solo into her litter to give him the best chances of survival. Low and behold — he snuck right in, seemingly unnoticed.

Even though it lasted for a short time, Solo became the 8th kitten in his adopted litter. The Gaudet family took in the mother and all 7 babies and cared for them over the next month.

All was well with Solo over the course of the next few weeks. The mother cat was sterilized and many of the sibling kittens started getting adopted. Meanwhile, Solo went into foster care with our volunteer, Jordan.

Solo’s struggles begin

Solo suddenly started to struggle to gain weight, and showed symptoms of lethargy, depression and diarrhea. After a checkup and blood work, he was treated for anemia and had a positive response to his medication, gaining over 150 grams, eating like a horse, and bouncing around with his other foster siblings.

7 days later, he started vomiting and was rushed back to the vet. Jordan recalls what happened next as being somewhat like deja-vu. After just a few days Solo was back to 100%, no more symptoms, and happy as ever.

Another 7 days passed and Solo started vomiting started again. This time more aggressively. This time the team decided to get a complete blood test and rule out some of the most gruesome diseases such as Leukemia, Panleukopenia, and Cat HIV. All of the tests were negative.

Getting to the bottom of Solo’s condition

The vet decided to do an ultrasound and no one was prepared for what happened next. The vet diagnosed our brave little warrior with Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). This disease is deadly, cats who develop FIP have a 5% chance of survival. Hearing this news was heartbreaking. Jordan recalls, “I felt like the world closed in on me. Liz just looked at me after moments of watching the ultrasound and began to weep. I had no idea what was happening but remember her saying ‘I’m so sorry Jordan’”.

There are no straightforward tests available that can completely confirm the diagnosis — but all the tests we did assumed the worst. We took Solo home to be comfortable, assuming his last days, maybe even hours, were upon us.

Solo is still fighting today!

Solo had won the hearts of so many of us at Adopt Meow. Due to the fact we had him since he was so young it is impossible not to build a bond. His lovely personality and cuddly nature made it easy to love him. Everyone took this news very hard. We couldn’t believe the little boy who beat all the odds as a hand raised neonatal could be lost after 10 weeks.

But in true Solo style, he stuck with us after one more week of getting fluids and steroids at the vets. He was slowly improving, eating more, gaining weight. After two weeks of progress, the entire team and the vets were baffled at his recovery. Could the diagnosis be wrong? Did he recover from FIP? What is actually going on here?”

Fast forward 3 weeks after diagnosis, and we can tell you that this little boy is nothing short of a miracle. He has completely recovered and is a happy, bouncy, playful little kitten. Today, Solo lives with Liz and the other cats at Adopt Meow Rescue Center. He sleeps with Liz at night and wakes her up bright and early every day for breakfast.

Solo has survived it all. Although many things remain unclear, one thing we do know — Solo is meant to be a part of our world.

🐾 Rescue story of the month

A new home for Neo

As the primary feline rescue organization in northern Thailand, you can probably imagine we get a lot of calls and messages about people wanting us to take in a cat they feel needs help. However, not all cats need help or rescuing. Being a small organization with limited resources we have to prioritize the most needy cats and kittens.

On August 11 we got one of those typical messages “there is a cat, can you help?” It wasn’t long into the conversation that we realized this situation was one of those that needed immediate attention and priority. A kind gentleman named Kenneth had found an elderly cat on the side of the road near Loy Khro Road. The cat could not walk and had injuries to his hind legs (see picture). Guen, one of our volunteers, rushed quickly to the site to rescue the tom cat, who we named shortly after, Neo.

There was no doubt Neo needed rescuing. Kenneth informed us that he had been laying in his own urine and feces for 3 days — being overlooked numerous times. He surely would have passed on had we not taken him in. As with every cat and kitten we rescue, we brought Neo in for a health check. His blood work came back positive for Feline Leukemia (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). Both incurable diseases that without proper care can lead to death. On top of these diseases, Neo also suffered from neurological damage to his hind legs. We are not sure how he became paralyzed, as his spine was not damaged, but his muscles were atrophied so we assume there was some neurological issue happening to lead to his paralysis.

Today, Neo is living at the Adopt Meow Rescue Center with Liz. He has his own quarantined area that overlooks the garden so he can watch the birds and have fresh air. He receives daily care including laser treatments to stimulate nerve regrowth. As of recently, Liz has even brought him to her osteopath (who also treats horses!) to have a look and other forms of care. Since, Neo has made exceptional progress and is living a healthier and much happier life. He is able to sit up on his own now and move himself by sliding his bottom across the floor. We aren’t sure if he will ever be able to walk again, we also don’t know how long he will live considering he is FIV and FeLV positive, but we do know he will be loved and treated with the respect and dignity he deserves for all days forward.

🐈 Adoption story of the month

Boom bounces back

Boom was hit by a car when he was just a young kitten, around 7 weeks old. Three people came to his aid and took him to the vets. They were unsure whether he was going to make it, and sent us a message asking if we could help. Of course we said yes! This little guy fought for his life and he was very lucky to have made it.

When he was finally ready to leave the vets, it was discovered that he wasn’t able to see. We had no indication whether he would get his sight back. He was sent home with a ton of medication. It was in foster care where he was taken out of his crate for the first time and given the run of the bedroom! He walked around cautiously at first, being careful not to hit walls. At this point he was still very weak and skinny. It took time to build up his strength and before long, we weren’t even concerned about his health!

Boom’s vision issues

His sight was a whole other issue as after a week of being in foster care, he was still unable to see a thing. Adopt Meow took him to a vets with an eye specialist. He examined him carefully and discovered his eyes were totally fine but the connection between his eyes and brain wasn’t working. He asked that we give it a month to see how he improves.

The next day, we introduced Boom to 2 other foster babies who clung to him like he was their mother. Within just a day, he was patting their tails. Within 3 days, he was chasing them around the room. None of us could have predicted how fast he would improve with stimulation!! No one could also predict the strong bond he felt with his new foster buddies, who totally doted on him and copied everything he did. This kitten has gone from death to blindness to playing with toys, getting up and down from the sofa and handling day to day life like the soldier he is!

Boom finds a home

A few weeks later, it was time to advertise Boom for adoption. We assumed it would be an uphill battle to get him adopted considering he has vision issues. It takes someone very special to take on such a special boy!

But his story was inspiring to many and we instantly received interest in him. And just this week, someone has come forward to be Boom’s adopter. Due to an upcoming holiday, they are unable to take Boom until mid-September. To prove their devotion to coming back for Boom, they have given a generous donation deposit. We are so happy for Boom and his massive recovery! Thank you everyone involved with the epic rescue and rehabilitation of this sweet ginger boy.