October 29, 2021 – Seal Beach, CA – Meet Chinchilla! Some weeks ago we introduced you to this friendly, happy girl who is suffering from a nasty and potentially lethal fungal infection call cryptococcus. It is a lengthy course of treatment with daily medication that can take months – and sometimes years – to fully resolve. As public shelters understandably do not have the capacity for this type of long-term care, darling Chinchilla wound up on the list to be euthanized.
Recognizing the urgency but not having an immediate foster, we got her out and boarded her at Little Cottonwood Animal Hospital, to which we are grateful for providing us that temporary refuge. Shortly after, we heard from adopters and wonderful friends of our rescue, Mark and Mei Li. They had just lost their precious senior gal named Flea after a full and cherished life, at 23 years old. Still grieving that loss, they generously opened their hearts and homes to foster dear Chinchilla so she could finally get out of a cage and into a home. Thank you to them, they are extraordinary. Thank you also to the shelter staff and volunteer Stephanie who advocated to get this girl the help and second chance she needed.
The medication she is on is expensive, and the condition requires frequent follow-ups to make sure the fungal pus-filled lumps (sorry, but it is nasty and can be a tricky condition to manage) are resolved and to monitor bloodwork since the medication itself can cause other issues. Her care will run into thousands of dollars over the course of treatment.
But we think she is worth it, we think her life has value. She is so loving, loves to be petted, and purrs on contact. We are glad she is alive, and so are her foster care providers who just love her. Your generous contribution helps make sure cats like Chinchilla don’t wind up as another statistic, but instead get to live the full and cherished lives they all deserve.
You can help Chinchilla here: Donate Now!
Please help us be ready for the next cat whose fate only you can change. On behalf of Chinchilla, thank you!
About Helen Sanders CatPAWS
Founded in 2010 to continue the legacy of Helen Sanders, who practiced and advocated trap-neuter-return (TNR) for feral community cats ever since the 1990s. CatPAWS rescues at risk cats from public shelters, finds adoptive homes, provides support to the community with education, low or no-cost spay/neuter vouchers, traveling kitten therapy program, and the DIY kitten care project. Visit www.helensanderscatpaws.com, CatPAWS Facebook page, or call 562-280-4450 to learn more or get involved.