Cat of the week: Gendry

Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).

On Aug. 22, 2019, Dr. Jen received an email plea from a Caledonia gal who came across this scruffy old guy wandering around her neighborhood. Her efforts to locate his owner or someone to take him in failed, but he was in need of medical care, so she took him in to her vet; sadly, the senior citizen (born in 2009 perhaps) tested positive for FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus). Having two cats of her own—and the new guy not really being a fan of others of the feline kind—the rescuer sought our help, lest he have to be euthanized.

Even though we really didn’t have the extra room at our free-roaming facility, Dr. Jen took him in and got to work on his health issues. Gendry (with a hard ‘G’) had suffered a mangled left ear and a tongue laceration some time ago, along with many broken teeth; he was in dire need of a dental, treatment for a bilateral ear infection and general plumping up.

The good doc and Gendry spent a few days together at the clinic where Dr. Jen discovered just what a gentle old soul he was, appreciative of chin scratches and gentle pets as much as the endless bowls of food presented to him. She knew it was going to be a bit of challenge to send him down to our sanctuary and ask him to get along with the 49 other cats, but he really had no other choice.

After a few days with us, it was evident that Gendry was LOVING the indoor life and all of the perks that came with being a Sid’s Kid:

“Gendry loves his one-on-one time with volunteers so much so that he frequently sneaks into the cat care office to ‘help’ with paperwork. He is a bit temperamental at times and is having a little bit of a tough time being around so many other cats, but he’s getting better as time goes on and he becomes more comfortable in the shared space (with the aid of anti-anxiety medication and a pheromone calming collar). He’s not physically aggressive but does tend to not back down during confrontations with some of the others; he may be little, but he is mighty. He’d definitely prefer to be an only cat, and to repay his adopters for their kindness he would eagerly express his gratitude by dropping the attitude and showering them with kitty head butts, purrs and total devotion. We feel that this old guy surely does deserve a comfy, cozy home all of his very own.”

And then Gendry started exhibiting some concerning symptoms that brought him back to the clinic. Digital radiographs of his spine showed significant bone spurs on the underside of his spinal vertebrae, which were causing him quite a bit of pain, an abnormal gait, and severe spasms that almost appeared seizure-like. The condition, known as spondylosis deformans, is somewhat rare in cats and typically isn’t present diffusely as his is.

So our old guy had every right to be a bit cranky since his arrival, but now that we have made the diagnosis, we can treat him accordingly with anti-inflammatory medication. There is no cure for this, but with the right cocktail of drugs, we can keep him comfy and agile—and hopefully lift his spirits in the process!