Hearts are Broken – February 22, 2019
Carrie
As our friends and followers know we have tried everything to help with the pain Carrie has because of the horrible declaw she had as a young cat. As one of WildCat Ridge Sanctuary’s veterinarians, Dr. Jennifer Conrad of The Paw Project (https://pawproject.org) got in touch with one of her colleagues. They have been involved in a trial study for a new pain medication that has been shown to be very effective in dogs and cats. She has been working with him in conjunction with The Paw Project. We set up an appointment for Friday, February 22nd to have the procedure done at Compass Veterinary Clinic.
With the amazing team of Dr. Conrad, Dr. Connolly and Dr. Lipanovich we were very hopeful this would help Carrie. However, as much as we would love to say that Carrie’s procedure went well, sadly it did not. Everything went by the book but when she was reversed after the procedure, as she was waking up she suddenly crashed. Dr. Conrad and Dr. Connolly immediately went into overdrive, got her intubated and worked over an hour doing everything possible to bring her back but in the end, it was too late.
Carrie was sixteen years old and in severe pain every day. I made the choice to see if we could make a difference for her and with the amazing doctors on hand we were all hopeful that this would provide a quality of life she didn’t have. We are all reeling from the loss but through the tears and grief I know she is no longer in pain and that brings a very small amount of comfort if there is any comfort to be found.
Caring for this special girl for over eight years has been a true joy, she was such a special cat and our hearts are all broken losing her. We will do a necropsy to determine what exactly happened but as an older caracal, there could be many reasons. Losing any of our precious rescues is mind-numbing but Carrie will always hold a special place in so many hearts. The time we share with them is far too short, and it’s gut-wrenching having to say good-bye feeling like I failed her 😢 Love you Carrie girl, nothing will be the be same without you ❤
Carrie’s History
Carrie, a caracal, came from Wild Animal Orphanage in Texas. Due to poor management and dishonest directors, the facility was shut down. We were contacted to see if we could make room for their small cats.
Carrie and Sebastian, a serval, arrived via Alaska Airlines in 2010 and made the trip unscathed. They both came out of their crates like they had lived here their whole lives. Both cats came infested with fleas and we found Carrie was four-paw declawed. She is a fun girl and very social but we see residual trauma from the declaw that she endured. She is also allergic to hay and straw so is the only wildcat that has fir shavings in her den box. She is on a pain management program and allergy medication but in spite of that, she is a happy cat and has made everyone fall in love because of her wonderful spirit.
