A stray Florida cat suffering neglect and medical issues found a rescuer nearby, then found friends all over the world who are working together to get him the help he needs.
Edie Enders tells Sonny’s story:
This is Sonny, who I recently rescued in Palm Beach County, FL. He has been severely traumatized and I am fostering and working towards socializing him in order to find his perfect Forever Home. Sonny was dumped by his owner with his jaw wired shut from being hit by a car. He also has nerve damage and is blind in one eye from the accident.
In his search for food, he was attacked and bitten by a dog, leaving a scar on his back. He had to have surgery on his mouth to remove the wire and pull some teeth. His mouth was infected. July 14th, I took him to Calusa Animal Hospital as he was still having pain in his mouth. His mouth was extremely inflamed and had some infection again. He has to have the rest of his teeth extracted or this will continue due to a condition he has.
Sonny came and found me one day, I believe begging for help. He was meowing really loudly and since I rescued him I haven’t heard a peep out of him.
I started feeding him in the afternoons and after a couple of days noticed he was having trouble eating and looked like he had a blockage in his mouth. I knew I couldn’t take on his vetting & fostering at the time, so I started begging for help on FB and via emails. Inga Hanley with Adopt A Cat Foundation in Lake Park, FL responded to my email and said she would take him. I trapped him and drove him up to her house. She had him for 3 weeks. She got him vetted and let him recover there.
He had a wire in his jaw and it had to be removed, along with some teeth. He had a bad infection in his mouth and he was just healing from the dog bite on his back. I actually thought he had mange. The vet couldn’t believe the dog bite hadn’t infected his entire body and killed him. Sonny is a fighter and really wants to live.
Once I found out about the wire, I searched high and low for his owner, believing that he was lost. No one came forward except for a crazy woman from Cragslist who contacted the police and tried to take him from us. Luckily, after a couple of weeks and my speaking to the detective, he closed the case. She actually sent the police to Inga’s shelter and threatened to file a “Theft By Taking” charge against her! She was delusional and mentally unstable and lived over an hour from where I rescued him.
A few weeks into the rescue, I got a PM on Facebook that someone recognized Sonny. It turns out the man worked at a local business, blocks from where I rescued him. The business had been feeding Sonny for at least a year. That’s how I know he had the wire in his jaw at least that long. The business had just closed down when Sonny showed up; I feel his original owner dumped him, and then these people left him to fend for himself when they closed.
I picked Sonny up from Inga’s after 3 weeks and took him in for a follow up visit to a low-cost clinic. Bad mistake. They told me his infection was gone and he was in good health. They also treated him very poorly after making us wait for 2 1/2 hours to be seen. Never will I take another animal there.
He’s been in my spare bedroom now for 6 weeks. I had been agonizing about whether or not to take him back to the vet as I wasn’t sure if he needed to go and I knew the visit would traumatize him. I realized a couple of weeks ago that his mouth was causing him pain. I called around and felt comfortable taking him to Calusa Animal Hospital. They have been amazing.
Sonny has been progressing, but he is absolutely terrified of humans. My goal is to get him healed physically, then when he’s healed enough emotionally to try to get him to a more suitable foster home and eventually to a wonderful, caring forever home. He will need to be with someone who is understanding of fearful cats, and very patient. Definitely someone who has had some experience.
Sonny is not feral. He was once a pet. He was neutered when I trapped him. He’s just been thru hell and needs to learn to trust humans again.
I don’t feel I’m the best foster for him once he’s doing better because #1) I’m gone @ 10 1/2 hours per day during the week and eventually he’ll need more attention and time from someone. #2) I believe that if Sonny was in a home with other cats (I’ve seen him with other cats outdoors and he was fine with them) that are accepting, they could help him heal and teach him how to trust and be a cat again. My cats are not accepting of others. I’ve already got 4 rescues at home.
The perfect home for him would be a clone of Rocky Chester’s family!!! (ED: The family of Ally Chester, who has worked tirelessly to share Sonny’s story and who has fostered and found homes for several cats from her Whitehaven, UK home.)
Sonny’s dental surgery is scheduled for July 27. Donations to a ChipIn set up for Sonny’s medical care have paid for his expenses to date, and are creeping slowly toward the additional $800 that will be required by the vet in order for his surgery to be performed. The ChipIn remains open and, with donations stalled, supporters have organized an online auction to help gather funds.
Edie says of Sonny’s further rehabilitation, after his physical needs are met:
Once we can get Sonny healed physically, I can work on his emotional healing. It’s going to be a long rehabilitation for Sonny. Once he is better, I will be looking for a Forever Home (or a long term foster) for this sweet boy who has been thru hell because of humans.
If you are like me, and love helping the underdogs and think you may be interested in giving Sonny a home once he’s better, please contact me.
Email: ke[email protected] . Phone: 561-843-3881 Thank you. Edie Enders
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A Facebook page, Please Help Sonny Get His Surgery has been set up for Edie and Sonny’s supporters to stay in touch. Most of the page’s activity can be seen by clicking on Posts by Others instead of using the default Highlights view.
A Facebook auction fundraiser AUCTION TO GET SONNY HIS SURGERY is currently running, with items from both the US and the UK on offer.
Link to Sonny’s ChipIn page, click HERE.
ChipIn widget for direct donations by anyone who cares to contribute or to share the widget link with others.
Be patient with him, he’s been through a lot. And even if he’s not a cat who is totally in to people, he still deserves a good home. He can still be a good pet in an indoor, safe home. He deserves to be taken in and given a chance!
Sonny is a lucky kitty – please take care of him & I know he’ll find a good forever home that will love him and respect him. God puts us in charge of all animals and Sonny was not treated with dignity. I can’t take him in, but I can help get him well. <3