Radish cat prayer Bast
Cats,  Shelter Cats

Radish The Cat Needs Your Help

May 22, 2015 / 43 Comments
If you love cats, sharing makes us purrrr :-)

In our post this week about the one year anniversary of being a shelter volunteer stirred up a lot of emotions personally and from readers. Thank-you for the many comments and emails of support and suggestions regarding Radish, a shelter cat on a bite hold and kill list.

Radish cat prayer Bast

To make a long, unpleasant story short, Radish a senior shelter cat of unknown origin has been caged for three months without being vetted. The shelter declined to do an exam with sedation. Please don’t leave comments trashing the shelter. It’s a complicated situation. Radish has bitten several people but there may be an underlying medical reason including possible dental issues. The only way to save his life is for me to sign a waiver taking responsibility. After visiting Radish shelter on Wednesday with my husband and numerous emails and calls later, we’ve arranged for our vet Dr. Rich Goldstein to do a complete exam next Thursday under sedation.

There is always a risk putting any cat under sedation. There’s no way to know in advance what kind of treatment he will require. Dental alone could be over $1000. Cancer, diabetes or some other disease? Who knows? Once the results of the exam are known, my husband and I will need to decide if we are prepared to adopt a cat with medical and/or behavior issues or find another home for him. It’s huge decision to take on the legal responsibility. My commitment to any pet is nothing less than 100% and for life. The timing is not ideal especially with Merlin in sharp decline, but the thought of Radish suffering or being put down was too much for me.

I’d had such high hopes for Radish when I featured him two months ago. He was feisty, super smart but hated being in a cage. He wasn’t exactly a love bug but he’d let me pet and brush him on my lap.

Radish shelter cat

 

 

Week after week, Radish got gradually more bitey and frustrated. He cried loudly to be let out of his cage but the small windowless room was not enough freedom. He never bit me but I was aware how he might turn on a dime to aggression.

 

Cats purr when they’re happy but they also purr when stressed or in pain. In this video, Radish has the dilated pupils of a very stressed cat, perhaps in pain. His loud stress purr speaks volumes.


If you are the praying kind, please pray for him. If you do Reiki, please send healing energy. If you can make donation to our emergency veterinary care fund, please do. If you can share this on social media, please do. All is needed and appreciated. I don’t have time to put together a fundraising campaign. PayPal is all I can do for now. Hubby has written about Radish on HUFFINGTON POST

Update: Radish was fully vetted and he has an enlarged heart, liver and kidney disease and requires dental surgery. He’s also much older than the shelter estimate of 8 and is actually about 14. We’ll be fostering him and providing prescription thyroid diet, regular vet visits to monitor his thyroid and stabilize him before risking dental anesthesia. We’ll update with new posts.

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43 Comments

  • Karen

    May 28, 2015 at 12:42 PM Reply

    Layla We have 3 cats all adopted when seniors and two of them are so scared when they go to the vet, they have to be sedated to be examined and to have blood drawn although they are very sweet at home. Those two hate to be picked up as well and we can only imagine what happened to them before we got them. The third one was rescued from the streets in Camden, NJ but is the most trusting, friendly cat you would ever meet. I would not give up one of them ever but when you adopt senior cats they come with the results of their lives before you meet them. My cats were all adopted sight unseen – we had no idea who was coming to us, we just wanted to save their lives. Bless you for helping Radish – shelters don’t always have the money or resources to help every cat that comes through their doors. I will try to help a little bit with Radish; hopefully he is healthy and just crazed by what he has been through.

  • Angel Ms. Phoebe's Mum & Fur sibs

    May 26, 2015 at 10:14 PM Reply

    My Clove and Kaspars pooled together this week’s allowance and wish to send it to help dear Radish, for they both can relate to his situation. Clove did not do well in a cage and became aggressive biting and clawing people. For her all it took was getting home and realizing she was safe and no one was going to hurt her here, and over the past year she has blossomed in to a far more care free, loving ladycat unafraid to show her true spirit.
    Kaspars arrived one snowy day almost 12 yrs ago feral and emaciated. It took months of leaving out food before he would allow anyone near him and remained on guard for many years. He too has bit before, including once so bad it sent his Grandpaw to the hospital and needing meds for over a month.
    Time and patience paid off and in the last few years he approaches us for love and is protective of those he loves. There is always hope for fur kids like Radish, given the right place and understanding.
    Thank you for all you do for special needs babies, including your own and for giving Radish the help he deserves.

  • ellen

    May 25, 2015 at 9:07 PM Reply

    Dearest Radish,
    We sent a litttle bit for you from Iowa. All the feral colony and the kitties inside send you loving purrs. We wish it could have been more but our Momma just got done doing TNR.
    The resident siamese (spoiled rotten girl ) sends meezer chirs to Merlin.
    Your friends,
    The Iowa cats

  • Laurie Nakamura

    May 25, 2015 at 1:57 AM Reply

    Donated a small amount, wish I could give more to help adorable Radish. I will Share your story on Facebook and Twitter and say big prayers for Radish to heal and get well:)
    Thank you for being a wonderful compassionate person! Also Thank your husband too, from all of us Animal Lovers!
    Laurie, Mittens & Peppy

  • ellen

    May 24, 2015 at 10:49 PM Reply

    That open mouth purring speaks volumes. I am glad you are Radish’s voice and am hopeful the solution is a simple one. Purrs to him and to his humans now too.
    Rescue on whatever level is never easy…. the decisions we have to make are heartbreaking and there is never enough it seems to go round.

  • Dezi and Lexi

    May 22, 2015 at 4:11 PM Reply

    Oh Miss Layla, Lexi here. I’z wanna say a meowsy big Fank you. See what weez not tell peeps is dat I’z had gotten so fraid when mommy took me to adoption events to find a new furever home dat, well, I became quite “mean”. I’z bit boff mommy’s resident cats and clawed them ferociously. I killed 2 kittens dat mommy was fosterin’ and da gwoup wanted to kill me. Mommy had raised me from 10 minutes old and sed NO!! And even tho she didn’t know ifin I wuld go back to bein’ sweet and cuddly, she kuldn’t let me go. Well after I figured out I wuldn’t be goin’ anywhere ad mommy was my mommy, I did calm down and become her love muffin again. So Fank you fur takin’ a chance on this poor handsum boy. We of course have no gween papers, but weez shared and will be purrayin’.

    Luv ya’

    Lexi and Dezi

  • Darlene Arden, C.A.B.C.

    May 22, 2015 at 3:29 PM Reply

    Bless you for caring about poor little Radish. Obviously, the “shelter” doesn’t or he would have had vet care long ago to discover why he is obviously in pain. I have reposted this, sharing on 3 of my Facebook pages, on Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIN. The more eyes who see it, the more chance of donations. Even a dollar put with other dollars can add up! Prayers for Radish who also is entitled to a loving home and a better name!

  • Heather and Ellie Mae O'Cat

    May 22, 2015 at 1:43 PM Reply

    I am sending prayers and Ellie Mae O’Cat is sending purrs to Radish. We are sending them to you too Layla and also Merlin, Domino and Odin. Also the sweet girl kitty whose name I can’t remember right now………….

    Heather

  • Skeeter and Izzy

    May 22, 2015 at 12:12 PM Reply

    Layla,
    we hope that everyone will dig deep and give even the smallest amount. One dollar over many people really adds up. We are purring and praying so very hard for you both. We understand the shelter situation. No matter how good the shelter there are often times when there just isn’t enough time, room, volunteers, money etc. and decisions have to be made and they are not always pleasant ones. We truly hope that all is well physically and it is just a matter of needing to be out of the shelter environmant and into a home with love, quiet and patience.
    We know the feeling of helplessness that goes with the rescue, shelter, feral cat work only too well.
    We love you guys and hope that the powers that guide us and protect us will see that Radish is whole again whatever it takes.
    Luvs,
    Skeeter and Izzy and the Feral Gang + Twig & Peanut & Romeo >^..^<

  • Sammy

    May 22, 2015 at 10:59 AM Reply

    Blessings to you and your husband Layla…..Radish has captured a lot of hearts. The exam may turn up a serious health issue of some type – we’re sending a whole lot of prayers your way believe me…………..

    Love, Pam

  • Ariel Brown

    May 22, 2015 at 7:07 AM Reply

    I shall weave a spell for him: May Radish’s path become brighter… May he find love and contentment… May he live without bars for the rest of his life. SO MOTE IT BE

  • Summer

    May 22, 2015 at 4:46 AM Reply

    I am purring LOTS for Radish! I know that shelters are often overwhelmed and sometimes when a cat’s in trouble, they can’t properly do the right thing by him. I’m so glad you stepped up to help him when no one else could.

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