Ready for Rescue: Emergency Medical Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

All of the funding was put towards emergency surgery for Salem, a Russian blue cat rescued from the Animal Care Centers of New York City. He had a fast-moving eye infection and required an immediate enucleation of one eye and restorative surgery on the other.

Salem needed emergency eye surgery due to a serious and aggressive eye infection. He needed to have an eye removed and a procedure to save the other eye.

How many pets did this grant help?

1

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Salem was rescued from the Animal Care Centers of New York City and placed into a foster home. Two days later, he stopped eating and, on the recommendation of a vet, he was taken to an E.R. for diagnostics. He had a latent upper-respiratory infection and an eye infection. He was treated with antibiotics and seemed to be getting better. But over the course of 48 hours, the eye got really bad.

He was rushed to the vet, who again said he needed the E.R. He was seen by an ophthalmologist, who determined that one eye was beyond repair and need to be removed and the other would need a graft to keep it functional. It was a heartbreaking turn of events for this incredibly sweet cat who, despite all his discomfort, purrs and solicits attention. This was also an unexpected expense that, because of all the other animals with extensive medical needs, we desperately needed help with.

Salem recovered amazingly well. Once his eye healed, he was adopted by a wonderful family. He’s doing great.