Taking in a cat or a kitten with an unknown past is habitual for cat lovers and rescuers worldwide and after years of experience we are all accustomed to finding grossly neglected, gaunt, sickly, and often seriously injured little creatures.
Understandably, it leads us to erroneous thinking that we’ve seen it all and that nothing could surprise us anymore. But sometimes, when a kitty that has just walked into our lives unthinkably abused, horrifically injured, broken-spirited and hopeless seems to
carry all of the pain and sadness in the world, we simply must wonder what kind of society we live in…
And that’s exactly what Morgan looked like when I first laid my eyes on him. Still just a kitten, he must’ve experienced a living nightmare that
no kitty baby should ever go through and the consequences were terrible. His left eye had leaked out, probably because of some untreated Chlamydia infection, his other eye didn’t look promising either, and his left rear lower leg has obviously been amputated for
unknown reasons. The surgery was performed badly and unskillfully, his leg was cut in the totally wrong place and his stump has basically had the skin sewn shut over the bone. What’s even worse, he was and still is leaning on that leg as he walks and I fear the
bone will protrude through the skin when he gets bigger and heavier, so it can reasonably be expected that the bone will break longitudinally under the burden of his weight in a few months, just like one of Milance’s legs did. Compared to all his
major problems, the fact he was skinny, weak and full of worms and fleas seemed to be insignificant and minor.
From day one we knew that enucleation of his left eye (or more precisely, of what’s left of it) will
need to be done, and if it turns out his eyesight in his right eye can’t be saved, the same surgery will be necessary for that eye as well. His left rear leg will have to be amputated properly, but this time the surgery will be performed by a skilful vet with lots of
experience who knows what he is doing. But it’s one thing to plan, and quite another to implement…
Morgan’s surgeries were scheduled for September 18th, but his right eye started to bleed the evening before and the leaking blood, although not
abundant, lasted the entire night. When we arrived at the vet clinic the next day, it turned out he actually had a corneal ulcer on that eye, so he was put under general anesthesia and the same surgical procedure which was done on Joca's injured eye months ago - a
third eyelid flap - was performed on Morgan’s right eye as well, in a desperate attempt to save him from being totally blind. The third eyelid has been sewn shut over the eye to bring a healing blood supply to its surface, although it's questionable whether
his vision in this eye even exists, and if it does, whether or not it can be saved. Even though he appeared normal (despite his problems) before the surgery, he had a hard time enduring the general anesthesia, he began having difficulty breathing, started to wheeze as soon as he
was intubated and he nearly died twice on the operating table – luckily, the vet somehow succeeded in resuscitating him both times. His unskillfully amputated leg and the remains of his left eye weren't even touched as the vets were literally racing against the
clock to save his life.
Morgan managed to survive the surgery but was in critical condition for days afterwards. The vet suspected he either had pneumonia, or had been badly beaten or had some serious heart problem and I couldn’t help
wondering if I’d ever know the truth of what happened to this poor baby in his short life. For about 10 days he’s been under antibiotic treatment, receiving Longacef every day and now it’s crystal clear that nothing else can be done until we find out what’s wrong with
him.
He had the eye flap stitches removed 10 days after the surgery and although his right eye looks a lot better than before, we still don’t know whether his vision is saved or not. He’s being given oral antibiotics now and his eyes (or better
said his right eye and the hole which was left after his left eye leaked out) are being treated locally, with eye drops and antibiotic ointments. He still has abundant brown discharge from both eyes and at this point it’s impossible to say when he will be ready for the next
surgery.
This cute ginger and white boy has gained a lot of weight and made many friends since he’s arrived at the shelter. He spends his days eating, sleeping and playing with his pals, blissfully oblivious of his health problems and totally
unaware he managed to pull through by sheer luck. It’s a miracle he’s still here with us after everything he’s been through; whether he was a victim of abuse, indifference, ignorance, incompetence or all the above, he behaves as if nothing bad has
ever happened to him. Even if he was loved and pampered from the beginning of his life, he couldn’t be happier.
Morgan’s now a joyful, cuddly, playful little boy, with no care in this world and blind or not, he’ll have a bright, promising
future. Does he remember his sadness and despair? Does he ever think whose fault it was? Possibly, but highly unlikely. Did he forgive? Absolutely. He’s a cat and cats don’t know what hatred, resentment and bitterness are, in difference to us, “superior” humans
who decide on their lives and deaths.
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