Kitten Left Behind By Family To Facing Painful Tongue Ulcers

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It seems like it would be the last thing anyone would want to do, but people do unfortunately move away and leave their pets behind to fend for themselves. It’s definitely difficult to understand why they do this, especially when they apparently make no effort to rehome the animal or even contact a local rescue center before moving away. That is exactly what happened to a cat named Sylvester, probably named for the popular cartoon character, as he has a coat that looks almost exactly the same as that particular character. He was once the member of a seemingly loving household, but the people with whom he lived moved away and left him, without a single word. For a few years, he roamed the streets and sympathetic neighbors fed him, thus keeping him in the area. More recently, he developed painful mouth ulcers that almost killed him. Fortunately, he got help just in time.

A Cat in Dire Need of Help

It wasn’t all that long ago that Sylvester the cat wandered up to one of the neighbors who had routinely been feeding him over the course of the last few years, only this time things were very different. As a matter of fact, his overall condition was nothing short of shocking, thus prompting the neighbor to rush him inside the home and call a local rescue center for help. The poor cat was unable to close his mouth, which had become bloody, thereby making him look like he had been in a terrible fight. To make matters even worse, he was incapable of grooming himself, which meant that he was also incapable of eating or drinking. While it is impossible to tell exactly how long he had been in that state, it was obvious that he needed help right away if he were to have any chance of survival. The thing that distressed his rescuer the most was the fact that he had a terrible odor, one that was described as smelling like something that had died.

Perhaps it was the fact that this information was communicated to the rescue center on the telephone, because it gave the veterinarian staff there a very specific idea of what could potentially be wrong with Sylvester. Fortunately, they showed up right away and took charge of him, knowing that he was going to need extensive medical care. Poor Sylvester was still in intensive care a week into his stay at the veterinary hospital, largely because the ulcers that he had on his tongue and inside his mouth had rotted away his teeth, leaving him in a condition where he had to have extensive dental work in order to have any real shot at long-term survival. The problem was that he had been without food and water long enough that he wasn’t stable enough to have any type of surgery. As a result, he was placed on antibiotics, pain medications and fed through a feeding tube in hopes of allowing him to regain enough strength to help him get through the surgery. It was only after several days in this condition that he started to show signs that he might be strong enough to survive the surgery, a risky procedure at best.

A Long Journey to Recovery

Fortunately, Sylvester did survive the surgery and today, he is in foster care. He’s reportedly doing very well and is more than capable of eating and drinking on his own, as well as grooming himself. He seems to get along well with other animals and by all accounts, is a very happy cat. Not surprisingly, he prefers to stay indoors as opposed to roaming around outside. After everything he’s been through, who could blame him? His story is one of both heartache and hope and by all accounts, it is a survival story at its core. It’s also one that has a lot of people asking how he ended up in that condition to begin with. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to know the answer to that question with complete certainty, but it is likely that it was the direct result of poor nutrition after his family left him. One of the main causes of mouth ulcers in felines is malnutrition, something that he likely experienced when he wasn’t able to get access to food consistently. Despite the fact that the neighbors were feeding him, it’s possible that he simply wasn’t getting everything he needed in his diet. It’s unknown whether or not he had any associated health problems while he was still living with his family that might have contributed. It’s also unknown whether that had anything to do with his family deciding to move away and leave him behind.

Living His Best Life

These days, Sylvester may not be in his forever home, but he is living a life that is arguably better than anything he’s ever experienced before. For one thing, he’s getting regular veterinary checkups and regular dental care, something that is imperative to preventing oral ulcers in cats. According to his veterinarian, he is doing very well. While it is unlikely that he will ever be able to have total control over his jaw, he is able to live a relatively healthy and normal life moving forward. All in all, he should be able to live a very happy life with someone who wants to give him a good home and share their life with him. There is no doubt that Sylvester has been through a great deal in his life. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of those issues came as a direct result of being abandoned by the people who should have loved him more than anyone else. His plight is a sad one and it is one that happens all too frequently. Fortunately, his story has a happy ending. Hopefully, it will inspire others to do what they can to keep animals safe. Maybe it will even inspire someone to adopt him or another animal like him. At the very least, it will hopefully make people think twice about getting a pet if they’re not absolutely sure that they want the responsibility of having one for the entirety of its life.