Mr. Gustav F. Mitchellson

Say hello to Gus, the newest foster at Space Paws! Gus is around six months old and just the most affectionate guy. When you pick him up, Gus will put his arms around your neck and hug and kiss you. Everyone at the office is just in love with him!

Gus won't be ready for adoption for a little while. First we need to see if he has lost parents. If we don't have any luck there, we'll have him neutered and get him his shots. Of course, he'll be subject to the usual stint in "solitary" to be sure he's A-OK disease wise. And while we're doing all this, Gus has a broken leg that will need to be fixed.

Here's his story (warning - long post ahead)...

STScI staffer Mitch saw this little guy hanging out around his house for a couple of days. Mitch is getting ready to move so, on Wednesday, he asked if Space Paws would be willing provide the shelter and he would handle "Lost Kitty" posters in his neighborhood, advertising for a foster home if that didn't get results, and getting the little guy his shots and not so itty bitty parts removed. Of course, we said yes. We decided Mitch would take a late lunch Thursday and get him, and I'd leave work a little early. I dialed up Doc Andrew's office and made an appointment for tests and shots on Saturday.
When I arrived at work Thursday morning, Mitch already had the little man with him! Mitch said he saw a kid hanging around with a bat. Even though he warned the youngster off, Mitch thought it would be better not to take chances and brought him in that morning.

I cleared taking off early with my boss (thanks, Karen!!) and, in a couple of hours went to Mitch's office to pick up the little boy. Turns out, in just that short time he'd become somewhat of a celebrity, because of his affectionate nature. One of the ladies in the office suggested we name him Freedom, hence the F. in his name now. I did start out calling him Freedom, and later tried out "Dom," but eventually just got a sense that Gus should be his name for now.

Mitch was out of his office and, while I waited for them to return, I noticed the little guy was favoring one of his hind legs. On the drive home, I noticed his pupils were very dilated for the light conditions and hit the speed dial for Doc Andrew's office. Unfortunately Thursday is his surgery day so we headed up to the emergency vet.

They were able to see us immediately and, as soon as Doc Marianne saw him, she said his leg was most likely broken. She whisked him away for an FeLV/FIV test and an X ray. Good news was a negative result on the blood test (he'll need to be tested again, when he's older - this young, there can be false negatives). Bad news was this... Doc Marianne said it would most likely need surgery, but that it was not urgent. We could wait to see Doc Andrew on Saturday. She said it was unlikely our Doc could do the surgery, but we should see him for a referral. So, she gave our boy a Fentanyl patch and some short acting pain meds and we headed home. They also said he should be kept quiet, so we made the big crate his new digs (thanks Sonia!!!).
He wasn't very hungry, but he drank the bowl dry in no time. At first he just rested, but our little dude is very social and I spent a bunch of the afternoon curled around the opening of the crate so he could get some love, but not get out. Thursday night was the Maples trip down to Jill and Peter's and, when we got home, he was resting comfortably. Some more love and it was bed time.

Friday morning, his appetite picked up a bit and, after some snuggle time, I headed off to work. When I got home, the poor baby had "monster paw!" It was swollen to at least twice it's normal size... and this was his good hind leg! The ER had said to leave his bandage on for a while because he'd squirmed during blood removal and, apparently, it was too tight (or I left it on too long... I have never felt so guilty in my life!). He was a wonderful kitten, only chewing on me a little when I snipped it off. It obviously hurt like heck! The doc's office was closed for the day, but thank God for the Internet! The online vet at justanswer.com said he'd be fine and didn't need to go back to the ER. Whew!

But the poor little dude had two bad legs now and we just cuddled all night. Once again, he had no appetite. He kept giving me head butts and baths and purred up a storm. It was during our cuddles, with me apologizing to him and telling him he was a "game little gus," that I realized he'd always be Gus to me. Gus... Gustav... oh, staying with the Nordic theme, I could name him after Mitch. And so he became Gustav Freedom Mitchellson.

This morning, the "monster paw" was back to normal. We headed out to see Doc Andrew. Gus got a good check up, lots of lovin' from the Doc, and a dose of Revolution. Poor guy has ear mites, too. He only weighed in at 4lb 13oz so we'll do our best to get him fattened up. *sigh* Doc A recommended an orthopedic surgeon in Harford County, since he doesn't do this type of surgery. He said the Fentanyl's effects should hold until the surgeon can see Gus. And then our wonderful Doc sent us home, without a stop at the front desk! (Have I mentioned lately your husband is just the best, Staci??)

We have a call into the surgeon and will hook up with him on Monday. Doc A confirmed that, as long as Gus stays quiet, the wait will not hurt him and there are very good odds for an excellent outcome.

Gus' appetite is back and he is now getting frisky. This is good and this is bad. I'd been letting him out of the crate when I was in the room, but this evening he jumped up onto the crate three times (with me springing up to gently remove him, before he hurt himself). I can't get over what power a cat can have in one leg. Poor Gus is under crate arrest now, unless I can actually sit with him.

So wish us luck! This little boy has had a very rough time, lately, but things are looking positive for him to make a full recovery and, either find his lost parents or a new, wonderful furever family!

Here's a shot of Gus on the snuggle sheet. Tomorrow more pics and some videos of Abigail's Angels!