The girl who lived

We pulled Taylor from BARC. She was a senior with a major mouth infection and had a slim chance of surviving in a municipal shelter. We rushed her to a seasoned vet only to get bad news. The vet didn’t like what he saw. Not only was Taylor’s mouth inflamed and filled with mucous, but she also had swelling around her throat.

He suspected cancer.

There’s a common-sense rule that you don’t perform invasive procedures on an animal with a poor prognosis. A biopsy would have been invasive. A full mouth extraction would have been invasive and unlikely to change the outcome.

Taylor was given antibiotics and pain meds to manage her quality of life. With heavy hearts, we marked her “hospice and promised to take care of her for as long as it was the humane thing to do.

That summer our shelter A/C broke, and we sent out a plea for temporary fosters. Taylor, a senior, was one of the first cats sent to a foster home.

We kept getting reports from her fosters: “The antibiotic doesn’t seem to affect Taylor’s infection — she is drooling and her tongue sticks out. But her spirit is strong! She’s active, curious, hangs out with our cats and dogs, and never misses a meal!”

When she came to a shelter for a checkup, we were stunned that she had gained two pounds! Cancer patients seldom gain weight.

Our vets started looking at Taylor’s mouth again. The bumps in her throat were symmetrical, which is uncommon for cancer.

Could her mouth infection stem from an autoimmune reaction to mouth bacteria? Two vets agreed that total mouth extraction was the best course of action. We booked Taylor’s dental surgery.

It was a nerve-wracking day. There’s always a risk when anesthesia is involved. Taylor still had most all of her teeth and removing more than 30 teeth would take 5 hours! The afternoon call came as a big relief “Taylor did great in surgery. She’s waking up and you can pick her up around 5 pm.”

And here’s the best part: While Taylor was under anesthesia, they did a biopsy of the “bumps” in her throat. Three days later we got the results: not cancerous!

Taylor, the girl who lived, has recovered beautifully! Her mouth is pristine, her tongue no longer sticks out, and her coat is well-groomed. She spends her days napping, snacking, and sunbathing thanks to a medical procedure!

Life is good!

Join Us at Our November 8 Gala!

Let’s raise funds for medical procedures and save more animals like Taylor. Join us for an evening of fun, four-legged friends and festivities at “Studio Fifty Fur!” Friday • November 8 • 7 pm • Four Seasons Hotel Houston