BRODY Tabby & Domestic Short Hair Mix Grand Rapids, MI

3-1-17: Brody is currently a member of our furry family here, having been returned in late January when severe acquired allergies of one of his human's forced them to relinquish custody of him. After 4 years as a beloved part of the Pedersen clan, we were a bit concerned that he wouldn't readjust to life as a shelter cat easily, but from the moment he padded his puffy little paws back onto Crash's soil, he was happily home again. Now I say 'puffy' because Brody suffers from an inflammatory condition known as 'pillow foot' that requires me to treat him with periodic steroids. He also has been troubled by middle ear infections over the years that caused his ear drums to rupture, but since his return, he has been doing quite well for himself. Overall, he has turned out to be a very outgoing, affectionate fella, which is a far cry from how he was when he first arrived. I have included his original bio below so you can see for yourself the remarkable transformation he has made!

When volunteer Alana Slipchuk called me in tears on August 9th, 2011, it was because she had rescued yet again another stray in need, but this one was in dire straits, after having been hit by a car. Severely anemic from a flea infestation that was trying to take over his poor, beaten, bedraggled body, this fella (born in the summer of 2006 I guesstimate) also suffered a nasty blow to the head that fractured his lower jaw. Infected and debris-laden, his jaw was quite displaced, but I couldn't surgically repair it because it was teeming with bacteria. And although heavy-duty antibiotics got the mess under control within a few days, and narcotics made him feel pretty fine considering, he was still too out of his element (he was SO shy) to attempt to eat, so to speed things up, I placed a surgical feeding tube into his esophagus. This way, I could medicate and feed him, all the while allowing his body much-needed time to heal.

So after about a week, Brody (named after the Chief of Police in Jaws:) I was able to pull the tube as he was eating well enough on his own, and could also take the oral meds needed to counteract his anemia with ease. And a few weeks after that, I sedated him to examine how well his jaw had healed, and as luck would have it, it had healed well enough on its own! There is no misalignment of his jaws and besides missing a few small incisors, you would never know the trauma he had been through physically. Now, emotionally is another story, as poor docile Brody is afraid of his own shadow, preferring to tuck himself away in any nook or cranny available. For that reason, we want to be able to give him all the time here that he needs in order to come out of his shell, and when we do find him a home, it has to be a quiet one with lots of cubbies and hideaways:)

I can't thank Alana enough for always going above and beyond for the uncared for cats she comes across; you are a lifesaver in every sense of the word!!

Thanks for taking time to find out more about our Crash Cats!!