Clinic takes ownership of ailing therapy cat

About a week ago, Shade went missing for two days and came back with most of his teeth missing, cuts on his head, stomach and the inside of his ear, and a limp. Sometimes, blood drains from his mouth.

Veterinarians say Shade needs to undergo surgery to fix his mouth. Most of his teeth were broken off at the gum line, so the roots need to be removed, along with any remaining teeth. When the veterinarian opened Shade’s mouth, a foul smell came out — a sign that infection was setting in.

Shade’s future

The clinic left Donahue-Hansen with a tough decision: put the cat down; release him to the clinic and have him placed in a new home; or go through with the surgery and incur any medical costs as the virus progresses.

She released the cat over to the clinic, which will go through with the surgery free of charge.

“We’ll miss our Shade, but he’ll be happy,” Donahue-Hansen said. “I can’t thank the Orchards clinic enough.”

The clinic looks to place Shade in a home, potentially with other cats that have the same condition. He’ll need to be confined to the indoors to prevent spreading the virus to other cats and to protect him from disease-causing agents. Humans cannot be infected by FIV.

Over the course of his life, Shade will be more susceptible to infection due to his compromised immune system. His future owners will incur ongoing expenses, but he may otherwise live a long life.

Although a few donations have already come into the Orchards Veterinary Clinic, 6307 N.E. 117th Ave., further donations are not being accepted at this time.

Shade will be treated over the next couple of days and will start taking antibiotics. About a week after surgery, he’ll be able to eat again.

“Just because he has a disease … that’s OK,” Donahue-Hansen said. “He’ll feel like a whole new boy.”

Patty Hastings: 360-735-4513; http://twitter.com/col_cops; patty.hastings@columbian.com.