Rugged and Mysterious

As disturbing as it was for us to see Oscar being abandoned for being "gay" was the fact that he had apparently seen little or no health care in his 4-5 years of life.

When I picked him up at the shelter, he was a wreck. His nails were so long that they were forcing his toes to curl back - they didn't even touch the ground. His fur was coming out in giant clumps, and he reminded me of the cartoon character "Pigpen" with a dust cloud of fur following him when he walked. He would not make eye contact, and cowered every time someone spoke. And he SMELLED!

I want to acknowledge that I observed the ladies at the Stanly County shelter treating him with great love and affection. We are grateful for their efforts.

We went straight from the shelter to Pressly Animal Hospital in Indian Trail. Dr Pressley and his team work closely with the Greater Charlotte SPCA to bring rescued/adopted animals back to good health.

It was tough - we had just adopted a new member to our family, and he was already in the hospital for an overnight stay. Dr Pressly and his team prepared Oscar for his neutering surgery the next day. Meanwhile, they clipped his talons and even brushed him to get the shedding under control. Initial reports were that Oscar was an ideal patient.

Oscar's surgery had complications.

During the routine neutering, the vet discovered what appeared to be an undescended testicle that had attached itself to the stomach wall. Dr. Pressly removed it and is confident that he got all the tumor. The pathology report was not great. The tumor was malignant. We don't know how much pain or discomfort it had caused him, but thankfully it is now gone.

As you can see from the photo, Oscar is not ashamed to show you his TWO scars, which are healing nicely. He says they make him look rugged and mysterious.

He begins heartworm treatment soon. We will keep you posted.