What Is Your Animal Miracle?

[Daryn Kagan]

I found this amazing story this morning about vets in Boston who managed to reattach a cat's face after a severe mishap. The cat was trying to keep warm under the hood of a car when it had a run in with the fan belt.

Apparently, Edgar is going to be just fine.

I'm giving thanks every day for the miracle who is Tripod, my 3-legged wonder cat. He's doing awesome after recent bout with kidney failure.

Any amazing animal stories you can share?

[Sophia Andrews]

My story is more like the one about the Blue Jays than the one about Edgar the cat.

This past summer my husband, Scott, and I took a guided tour of an historic house while we were visiting Lexington, KY. During the tour a powerful storm developed. Scott was afraid a tornado would come through. Fortunately that didn’t happen, but we had no idea that we were about to embark on an animal adventure!

On our way to the car, Scott caught sight of a tiny gray bird in the grass. It was soaking wet and appeared to be dead, but it was actually still alive! Scott noticed the bird just as the resident house cat trotted past it. We were so relieved that the cat hadn’t noticed it. We tried to perch the bird on a tree branch, but he was too soaked and weak to keep his balance. He couldn’t keep from falling to the ground. It was obvious that he was very young, and possibly unable to fly at all. We knew he would either succumb to the storm, or eventually be eaten by the cat. We made the decision to take him with us, raise him, and release him at the appropriate time. The timing was perfect, as we were planning to head home to Indiana immediately following the house tour.

Scott knew the bird was a Cardinal, as one of the parents was hanging around, chirping excitedly. We both have experience dealing with birds, and were confident we could save this little cardinal. The first stop was the grocery store where we purchased almonds, sunflower seeds, bread, bananas, and Gatorade. I know this sounds disgusting, but I personally chewed these items up, spat them out, and mixed them into a paste…a sort of baby bird formula. Hey, I was feeding him the way his parents did! It was the only way we could deal with feeding him, being in a car, miles away from home.

When the Cardinal’s feathers dried, we realized he was a fledgling that did have basic flying abilities. He looked so cute, complete with the characteristic crest on the top of his head. He traveled so well, and I really enjoyed his company. He kept hopping up on the dashboard and looking out the window at the passing traffic. I did feel sad for him, however, since he’d had to leave his parents behind and was now going to stay in an unfamiliar place. So, I made a promise right then that we would return him to Kentucky once he was strong and mature enough to survive on his own. After all, he is a “Kentucky Cardinal.” We named him “Colonel Harland Sanders” after the founder of KFC.

Unfortunately, Colonel experienced a bout of baldness, which is a common occurrence with Cardinals. All of his head and neck feathers fell out. He looked ridiculous, but the real problem was that he’d be susceptible to the wet and cold in the wild if we were to release him. We realized that his feathers wouldn’t be able to grow back in time for him to be released before the end of the summer.

So, Colonel is spending the winter with us, and will be released in Louisville, KY when the spring comes. We are choosing to release him in Louisville, as it is a closer drive for us, and we plan to visit the city fairly regularly. We even have a nice park picked out for him. Interestingly, the University of Louisville’s mascot is a Cardinal. I’d noticed the logo during our summer trip (we’d been to Louisville before going to Lexington) and found it to be the cutest thing. Little did I know that on the last day of the trip I’d have a real live Cardinal of my own.

We do not know if Colonel is a boy or a girl, by the way. The immature Cardinals always have the same colourings as the females. But, we decided to refer to him as a “he.”

I am including two photos of Colonel. In the first one, he is posing beside a sticker of the Louisville cardinal, which we have on our car. In the second one he is showing off one of his lovely wings. These photos were taken a few days after finding him (before he went bald). He has since regained his head and neck feathers.

[Daryn Kagan]

Sophia-
Aren't you a great bird mama! I would never know what to mix up for a baby cardinal, let alone to chew it up and spit it out for the baby. Amazing.
I'm becoming kind of one those crazy bird ladies w/4 feeders outside office window. I get a lot of cardinal business and it is fun to watch the little ones grow up.
Please keep us in the loop on Cl. Sanders story.

Thanks!
Daryn.

[Thad Bell]

I want to tell you about Scrappy and his owner(my best friend)Shawn. First of all Shawn is of Irish decent and though he is a big guy and worked as a bouncer, he has the typical Irishman's soft heart. This causes him to take up many lost causes and occasionally take in strays.(This quite likely explains our friendship also.)
It was summer 2000 and we were working on a car at Shawn's Repair Shop. A cool summer night was falling as we cleaned up and called our spouses to make dinner plans. Both told us "We Boys" were on our own for the evening. I had heard a strange sound coming from the tree line, beyond the parking lot, about an hour earlier. I decided to go investigate.
The area was all brambles and weeds about chest high. the mystery sound seemed so far off but it actually was just down to almost a whisper by then. We finally zeroed in on the sound and fought the brambles aside to find a really malnourished Black on White feral kitten wound up in the briars; the more he struggled the worse his predicament got. He was too tired to even fight us much. He would likely not have lasted out the night. We swaddled him in a shipping blanket so he was imobilised and began to de-thorn him. He was skin, fur and bones, covered in fleas and parasites. Shawn had seen a kitten much like him dead beside the street near by and we figured he and some siblings were probably dumped close by.
A trip to the Vet revealed this kitten's 'parasite collection' was quite extensive and the vet was less than optimistic about his chances for survival. "He's malnourished, infested, infected, scratched up, his heart is likely damaged from heart worms and his growth is likely permantly stunted, he'll need 'shoes' until his foot pads heal and he has a minor birth defect; a crook in the end of his tail! I wouldn't be surprised if he's never ever tame either, that is IF he lives!".
The next morning Shawn came back to pick the little guy up. The Vet was really pleased with this little cat and proclaimed him to be "a really scrappy cat. I'm surprised he made it through the night!" the vet added smiling. So "Scrappy" became his moniker! Shawn quit counting when he had spent over $200 on Scrappy, "in for a penny in for a pound"!(What did I say about lost causes!)
Scrappy occasionally seemed to think he was a dog though he was not around dogs at Shawn's house. He took to being an indoor cat and even took to using the litter box. Scrappy liked to ride on Shawn's shoulders and though he never once "won" Scrappy could not resist swatting at the ceiling fan any time a shoulder ride brought him within striking distance! No one knows why he disliked that ceiling fan, he just did.
Never boring, Scrappy could get himself into many tight places and got himself stuck about once a week. He was not predisposed to being predictable. He even managed to get himself trapped in the toilet by the toilet lid one day, never boring! The meowing commode story is unforgetable.
The summer of 2007 was a tough one for Shawn, his estranged Mother whom he was trying to make peace with died leaving him with the burdens of a child's unrepaired parental estrangement. He had reached out to her only to be set aside again and again. Each time he fell into a funk Scrappy would be all over Shawn until Shawn could smile; occasionally this took days. Scrappy would bring Shawn mice and bugs from his outdoor forays in a patent effort to support him. How could anyone not be cheered up by the sight of Scrappy offering you his latest headless mouse? You would have to have a heart of stone.
The following winter was hard in the little cat and he seemed to keep getting colds. His Vet was not happy at all, but there was little he could do beyond the usual. Spring came and went but the colds seemed to linger. Finally his kidneys were failing, he was being poisoned from the inside out. He couldn't seem to purr, he just yowled and cried and even refused to take pain meds, the only relief seemed to come when resting on Shawn's lap. One morning he curled up on Shawn's lap and snuggled to be stroked. Shawn noticed he was purring, a few minutes and the purring became weaker until it stopped with a small sigh. Scrappy was gone.
As Shawn's best friend it fell to me to try to help him out. I went by a bottle shop and picked up a small bottle of Irish Whiskey and drove to his place. I had a plan, it was about broken things we cannot fix. I'm not much for drinking, my wild days are far behind me; Shawn has a Pancreatic problem and if he drank to excess he would slip ionto a coma.
We walked out to the little grave site, on it Shawn had set a large, rough white quartz rock; about 25 pounds, it sat atop a small mound of Georgia red clay. "I keep walking back here....." Shawn said quietly, flailing his hands about slightly. "I know." I added quietly but firmly. "He was a good friend, a good cat, and occasionally a passable dog." I added with a wry smile. "A Good Friend" Shawn said quietly. I pulled out the whiskey bottle and opened it, "Have a pull" I said. Shawn took a good slug; he handed the bottle back to me. I took myself a good hearty tug off that bottle and put the cap back on. It wasn't down but maybe 2", no more. "We fix things, cars, houses, food, roads, trees. But there's just some things we can't fix. Good bye Friend" I said with a smile. "Good bye friend and I hope we meet again." Shawn added. And with that I hefted that bottle of Whiskey and threw it crashing down upon that quartz stone; the bottle shattered into a million shards and that golden liquid splashed across everywhere. "There's some things we just..can't..fix, my friend" I muttered.
"Thank you, My Friend." Shawn said, smiling with tears in his eyes, "Enough said!"

[Daryn Kagan]

Thad-
Thanks for sharing the story of Scrappy. I read it as I have my own rescue cat, Tripod, sitting on my lap, so it was especially poignant.

And thanks for being such a good friend to Shawn.

And welcome to the community! So glad to have you on board.

Daryn.

[Sophia Andrews]

What a beautiful, touching story. Shawn certainly was fortunate to have Scrappy in his life. It's amazing how animals can sometimes fill the void left by unfulfilled human relationships. I am also deeply touched by the beautiful friendship that you and Shawn share.

[Judy Vorfeld]

Daryn, I have a miracle kitty: Shadow. Four years ago, my husband died, and our cat, Bear, and I were working our way through the Christmas holidays. Things were quiet, different, kind of boring, but okay. On one of the last days of the year, Bear sat riveted as he looked out the patio door and watched a tiny blob of fur nestle up against the door.

Rain was pouring down, and the wind was blowing hard, but the little kitty refused to move. I brought out a shoebox lined with a towel, and some warm milk. He loved it. I knew he was meant to be part of our family, so I got him to the vet, where he weighed in at one pound, four ounces. He was checked for diseases and whatever else they check for, and became part of our home.

The moment he and I walked in from the vet hospital, our household dynamic underwent a dramatic change. Now there was activity. Bear was fascinated by the little guy. I named him Shadow because he was such a gift from God. When trying to figure out a name, I just knew I'd find it in the Psalms. Sure enough, when I was reading this: How precious, O God, is your constant love! We find protection under the shadow of your wings.

Did I mention that the backyard is fenced in, and there was no way a little kitten could have found its own way to our patio. Today Shadow is a large, beautiful cat.

P.S. Sweet Bear, who was also a rescue cat, died last Thanksgiving, and after a few weeks I headed for an animal rescue shelter and found Bear 2.0. He loves lying down on my desk and watching the cursor as I write or edit graphics. And once more the dynamic changed. L'il Bear taught Shadow how to play, and they spend hours romping and tussling throughout the house.

Here are pictures of Bear and Shadow and Bear 2.0 and Shadow.

Thanks for letting me share. It wasn't until I was widowed that I truly understood the importance that pets can have in a life. Experience works! And most of all, these cats keep me laughing. Is that a gift or what?

[Daryn Kagan]

Judy-
Thanks so much for introducing us to the miracles that are Bear, Shadow, and Bear 2.0. You are so blessed to have them.

Big hugs from us!
Daryn.

[Barbie]

Yes this is truly amazing.
This happened at least 15 years ago but in did happen.
Ok the beginning a friend of mine gave me his parakeet,cage an all.
I was very pleased it was a beautiful bird,well behaved!~lol.and I really loved him.
Well when Spring came I thought how beautiful it was out side and
thought how "Webster"(the bird)would enjoy such a beautiful Spring day.
I hung his cage on the front porch,but you guessed it.Somehow he escaped.
Then this is the weird part,he wound up ten miles away by land as far as the bird flys I couldnt tell you how many miles.
But what happened was a miracle he wound up at my parents house at their bird feeder outside.
My father quickly warmed up to the little guy who could really never fly again,a lot of his feathers missing.
He lived out his life there with my parents.They spoiled him.He was a lucky bird indeed!~