Hey peeps, 

It's a sad day today. It's a day that no one would ever expected. We were supposed to head out for some good Chap Fan, go to a cute cafe and work our ass off. I had some plans to write about happy thoughts and events that happened in the month of Dec or do some research on cute apartments. 

Unfortunately, things don't always go the way we want it to be. 

On our way to the cafe, we saw a poor cat hiding underneath a car with some open wound on it. The first thought that came to our head was it's some bad ringworm case or he got into a fight with some other male cats. A lady came by and gave him some food and we were trying to think what is the best way to get him to the vet. He don't seems hurt as he was very happy with the lady and our presence. It's like, Hi! Let's be friends! kinda vibes. He was trying to rub his bloody head on the lady (She dodge of course) and he was so grateful that there were food and people who were giving him attention. 

We managed to put him into a box and got him into the car. Poor JT was trying so bad to keep him secured in it. Can you imagine, an girl on crutches (Will explained in another post), another with 2 laptops in her bag pushing an empty wheelchair (She got nervous) and another girl carrying a box and trying not to let the poor cat escaped. It was a scene that deserved a movie on its own I guess. Okay - maybe not a movie but maybe a scene from a drama? It was chaotic that's for sure. 

The vet that we went to was Pets Health Veterinary Clinic located in Aman Suria. Although its a little small compared to some clinic but they do have doctors with big heart and their price is reasonable. It is not crazy RM80 for consultation alone kind of vet so it has been a good place to bring your pets. Anyhoos, we named this little one Zoombie given that he has so much energy and with his open wounds like that, you would have never questioned the reason why we named him that. He wasn't wild nor fierce at all when we rescued him. The whole time, he was just curious with everything that is going on and he just want to get some head rubs and chin rubs. Yes, even with all those open wounds, he just want to ask for more rubs! 

When we finally got our turn to see the doctor, we were given a bad news. 

Do note that we are not rescuers nor do we do this in our free time. This is the second time that we found a cat that needs our help and we are totally new to this whole cat world. The only cats that we have in our life are cats that lives indoors and have good food and shelter. 

The doctor said, 

"This looks like a fungal infection - Sporos"

Given that we were totally noob in this, we were curious on what this was. Our whole assumption that the cat got into a bad fight or ringworm went out of the window just like that! 

So after some googling, here is a short definition of what the condition is about. (You may googled more if you are interested) 

Sporothrix schenckii is a fungus that has the potential to infect the skin, respiratory system, bones and sometimes the brain, causing a diseased state called sporotrichosis. Infection is caused by the virtually ubiquitous dimorphic (mold and yeast) fungus, S. schenckii, which typically infects via direct inoculation - that is, through abrasions of the skin or by inhalation. The origin of the fungus is environmental; it is naturally found in soil, plants and sphagnum moss, but it can be communicated zoonotically between different animal species, and between animals and humans.

Cats tend to experience a severe form of cutaneous sporotrichosis, making them an even greater risk for transmitting the infection to other animals and people. In cats, intact male cats that roam outdoors and fight are predisposed to puncture wounds, which then offer an advantageous route for S. schenckii to enter the body. The infection may also be spread by other cats, often through scratches to the skin.

Credit: What is Sporotrichosis?

In laymen terms, it is a fungal infection that will eats at the skin if it get into contact with another open wound so male cats tend to get that as they fight for territory or girlfriends. This poor cat looks like he's a year plus in human age but his skin was so severe. 

Anyway, the doctor had the virus looked under the microscope and confirmed that it was indeed the Sporo fungal. She gave us two options. The first, to put the cat on antibodies, but given that it is so severe, it could take up to 6 months and more and second, to avoid it from spreading to other cats and end its suffering, well, yes -put it to sleep. 

The moment that she mentioned that, I could feel the tears gathering in my eyes. This is the first time we were all put in that situation and it wasn't a situation that I would like anyone to faced. 

And yes - we took the second option as there is no shelter that wanted it (We contacted two rescue team but one of them responded that there is a shelter that will take in with some payment but depending on how severe it is)

That little one struggled a little when he was sedated and in just a few minutes, he was gone. No more pain, no more suffering. It was horrible. All the emotions came flooding in and those emotions aren't something that could be processed in a short moment. 

The purpose of this post is of course to pen down what happened today but there was also a lesson learned here. We did not know that this fungal infection could be so serious nor did we understood how rescuing cats worked. If more people are more aware of how cats breed, perhaps it would be good to have cats sprayed so they don't go around having more kittens in this world. Other than that, it is also good to be aware that this fungal should not be taken lightly so if anyone has any outdoor cats, they should be aware that there is a fungal like this. 

Today has been a rough day for us all. 

Rest well, little one. I'm sorry that this life is short for you. I hope you find some friends in cat paradise and you are able to run around having lots of fun. 

xoxo,

eunicegm