BITSY

Bitsy was a rescue that we found living in a tree. This poor cat had been spayed and de-clawed and then dumped. She was trying to live on her own with no defenses, hiding high up in the trees to avoid being attacked. Once we realized she was there (she meowed until we saw her) we started feeding her by putting bowls up on the limbs of the tree. She would come down, carefully, eat really fast and run back up. Over time, she went from tree to tree in the immediate area, always moving into a canopy where she would be both supported and hidden. It took months of coaxing but when she finally did let me touch her, I was shocked. She was covered with scabs, fleas and sores and she had a huge tumor on her stomach. She also had a split lip, which we later found out was a "channel" connected to the "agranuloma" she had on her stomach. These are caused by allergies and stress. She was so skinny you could feel her bones, even though you couldn't see them because her long fur. She was trembling when I touched her and it took months to finally coax her down and take her into the apartment. I kept her in the bathroom with her own litter box, sleeping on the back of the toilet. The apartment was small and we already had a few rescues and since she had no claws I wanted to separate her. She did escape a few times and went right back to the trees. We had to hunt her down and coax her to come home many times. But eventually we got a vet to treat her for her allergies, tumors and fleas. We also found out she is allergic to fish and tuna in particular; she vomits if you feed it to her. So she requires special food different than the others. But she is doing ok.

The problem I have with Bitsy is that she has developed chronic cystitis and needs special food and medicines. We are still trying to pay down the last vet bill where she was treated for cystitis. She is in pain at times and is urinating blood. She is still eating, taking fluids, interacting with us and being herself most of the time but she is going to need Hills Prescription Diet C/D and Uri-Ease on a regular basis. The reoccurence of cystitis is due to stress and currently she is under seige by our new rescue, Be Bop, who keeps harassing her. She is an older cat, beleived to be around 10 - 11 years old and the stress is exhausting for her. What I really need help with is getting her to a vet and getting a decent supply of Hills Prescription Diet, which is sold by the case. She has to have one flavor, chicken, because she is allergic to fish. I can handle the Uri-Ease and the Cranberry Powder over the long term but the trip to the vet will be $300 for a complete battery of tests to determine why she has recurrent infections, why she is bony and skinny and has a high body temperature. It is beleived she might be hyperthyroid. So any help you can give me for this would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to juggle a lot of rescues right now and our financial situation is stagnant. So a dollar from everyone would go a long way to helping us out. Anything you can part with will be greatly appreciated and put to work helping Bitsy.

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