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Alex Gets a Second Chance

The cats and dogs that come into the lives of Second Chance volunteers have their own stories that make them special. Alex is one of them. Like many of our fosters, her story starts out pretty sad, but will soon have a happier ending.

Alex is a beautiful, 9-year-old female short-haired tabby and white domestic cat. In early June her owners took her to the vet to board her while they went on vacation. As it turns out, they were taking a permanent vacation from Alex. Alex's owners never returned for her. Alex was placed on death row while the clinic (which doubles as animal control for parts of Johnson County) went through the required procedure of trying to contact the owners before they could kill Alex.

Alex spent the next three months in deplorable conditions with barking dogs and crying cats all around her, most of whom met the same fate planned for Alex. But Alex had made a couple of friends at the vet clinic. A young man who cleaned her kennel every day and who spent countless hours petting her and talking to her along with another staff person kept calling rescue groups to see if anyone could take a 9-year-old cat. On the last day of Alex's life, a staff person contacted Second Chance to see if we could make room for Alex and we did. By the time we got Alex, she was very thin and wouldn't eat. (A cat that is severely depressed will stop eating.) Blood tests showed that Alex also had hypothyroidism, a condition which causes a cat to eat all the time and in great amounts, but continue to lose weight. This condition made Alex's eating problem a very dire situation. Alex was put into a home environment where, with loving patience, whe was force-fed and coaxed into eating. She made daily trips to the vet to get injections of a medication which would stimulate her appetite. She was also started on a thyroid medication. After about a week and a half, and weighing in at only four pounds, Alex finally began eating on her own again.

Second Chance then learned that Alex's hypothyroidism needed to have a special radiation treatment that would cost $600. We asked for help and some very special people came through. Thanks to the help of these generous donors, Alex's radiation procedure took place December 2000. This procedure will increase Alex's quality of life tremendously. It will allow her to live out her life without further treatment or medication.

Currently, Alex is doing well and starting to put on weight. She is an extremely sweet and loving lap kitty. She likes to talk and rolls her r's when she is happy. She is front declawed, spayed, FeLV/FIV negative, and fully vaccinated. Once her thyroid condition is cured, she will be completely healthy. Alex will then be available for adoption to the most loving home we can find!