Furry Friends is a volunteer run, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, no-kill cat rescue serving Clark County, Washington and the surrounding metro area. Most of the cats that we take in just need routine care such as spay/neuter, vaccinations and pest control. A handful need dental procedures costing us $300 to $3000, and occasionally we end up with a very sick cat that we feel can be made healthy. Linus is one of those expensive cats costing Furry Friends around $5,000 so far.

Linus came to Furry Friends with his sister Trixie back in November, 2020. He was very skinny with a decreased appetite. Our veterinarians at Columbia River Veterinary Services examined him and recommended that he have a feeding tube since his liver seemed to be rapidly shutting down due to him not wanting to eat. When cats do not eat they can do serious damage inside their little bodies. Linus was diagnosed with feline hepatic lipidosis. When he stopped eating it forced his liver to convert his body fat into usable energy making fat build up in the cells of his liver.

Christmas Eve he went to one of our foster parents who we knew could manage his rigorous food and medication schedule. He had to be tube fed 5 times a day and medication throughout the day, through his tube and also weekly injections. Every week he had re-check appointments where his medicine would be adjusted and his tube feeding decreased or increased. One time he had to go back in and get his tube replaced from throwing up a hairball along with his feeding tube! We took him to a groomer where he decided to show his spunky attitude and not let us get him a teddy bear cut. According to his previous owner Linus was not a fan of the groomer!

Linus is making progress. Just recently (February) he has started to eat with his mouth again and has gained almost 2lbs! He is on track to get his tube out soon and to start tapering off the rest of his medication.

This has been a costly, but worthwhile, couple of months for Furry Friends! Linus and his sister Trixie are both happy and grateful for the care that Furry Friends has shown them. Furry Friends is a small shelter that adopts out up to 400 cats a year. We are supported by donations and the kindness of our volunteers and friends. For more information about Furry Friends or to make a donation, please visit https://furryfriendswa.org/donate/

Or contact us at information@furryfriendswa.org or leave a message at (360) 993-1097.

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We would like to thank Jenn Hutchman for writing this article. She has been volunteering with Furry Friends for a couple years and has been an amazing contribution to our team. She has fostered over 50 cats and kittens so far for Furry Friends, and not just the easy ones. She has fostered several bottle baby kittens that require feeding every two hours and has taken on some of the difficult medical cases. She also is the lead person for our email/voice mail team, plays a significant role on our medical team and has done a number of other tasks including fundraising. For 2020 she put in about 570 volunteer hours for Furry Friends. We are so grateful for all she does.

Furry Friends is a nonprofit cat adoption organization. Its mission is to help homeless, relinquished and abused cats by providing spaying and neutering, medical care, and foster shelter for as long as it takes to find their forever home. Copyright © 2013 – 2020 Furry Friends. All rights reserved. Website design and development by Christina Roberts.