Tumble

Tumble (BC)

Tumble came to us from Shuswap Paws Rescue at the end of July – a big teddy-bear of a boy, labelled as a feral, with a sad face. Some of that sadness was likely the fear and uncertainty felt by most cats when they arrive; whether trapped as feral or stray, or surrendered for reasons they don’t understand, arrival at the Sanctuary is rarely an easy time for newcomers. Some react with fear-aggression and others shut down. Tumble took the latter route, and hid.

Exploring outside  (BC)

For him, though, there was a double issue; not only was Tumble struggling with a move and a new environment, he was also coping with discomfort. He is one of the cats who has come to us with entropion issues.
Entropion is something that many cat-owners never encounter, but sometimes comes up as a factor for cats coming to our care. Our beloved Biggie in New Aids, who was eventually adopted, was an entropion cat, as was Charlie; Zeus and Taz, in Val Jones, also had surgery; Gordo from the Single-Wide (and now adopted) had both eye and ears corrected, and Quincy, featured in last week’s blog, had the surgery before he came to us.

Still with a shaved face after his first surgery  (BC)

Entropion is a medical condition in which either upper or lower eyelids roll inward, causing hair to rub against the surface of the eye. We all know how painful it is to get something in the eye; in entropion that pain is constant. Results in surgery are usually good, but it needs the hands of a skilled veterinary opthalmologist. Each cat’s surgery will vary because the cat’s facial measurements will also vary, but basically, the surgeon takes a small wedge of skin from the eyelid, so that when the incision is sutured, it pulls the skin tighter, away from the surface of the eye.

Venturing further afield - Newcomers deck  (BC)

So poor Tumble was not only dealing with the fear of being in a new place, but then had to spend most of the next months in a cage, wearing a cone and unable to access his own itchy body as it healed. Fortunately, he was placed in the big TeaRoom cage, large enough to accommodate visitors who sat and talked with him, and as he healed, it became obvious that this sweet boy knew all about being a pussy-cat, and his label from Shuswap as a feral was more about situational fear and pain than about being terrified of humans – he’s obviously had a home and is perfectly willing to let us spoil him.

Big stretch, after a snooze on top of the cages  (BC)

Tumble has now been out of the cage for some time and is in no hurry to live in the great outdoors. He would rather make himself warm and comfortable on the DoubleWide Deck, where he sleeps on top of the cages (warm air rises!), especially now that the plastic panels covering the window mesh are now helping to keep the cold out. I find that he’s a morning-and-evening cat; when I arrive at 8am for a shift, he’s often exploring outside, happy to come and interact with humans. Following evening feeds, he will come for a few tidbits, some lap-time and his share of loving. Daytime (and while visitors are here) he tucks himself away.

Visiting in the Tea-Room (BC)

We’re wary about adopting out semi-ferals, especially after having Bello, Guacamole and Gwen returned for refusing loving homes, but I think Tumble will be unavailable for public adoption, not for reasons of caution, but because one of our new med-staff has totally fallen for this sweet boy, and his forever home is awaiting him (with possibly one more surgery to go first).

Blog and photos by Brigid Coult