A happy survivor
Olympia’s Story
Olympia came to RAPS as a stray cat who was found wandering in a Richmond neighbourhood. She was brought in by a Good Samaritan. When she entered the Shelter, our usually unshakeable Animal Care Team was absolutely shocked by her condition. She was in a very poor state – anemic, emaciated, dehydrated, and with matted, dirty and missing fur. Olympia also had a severe flea infestation.
Our team immediately began to warm Olympia up and offered her a small amount of food (so as not to make her sick), which she ate very, very quickly. We began the usual intake process, including treating her for fleas and parasites, which she desperately needed because the fleas were leading to further malnutrition and weakness.
In order to help Olympia heal, we knew we would need to shave her matted hair off. During the process of shaving, our team noticed that she had a bone
protruding from her left femur area. As Olympia moved around in her cage, we also noticed that she was limping severely on this leg.
Thankfully, our veterinarian, Dr. Guy Arad, was available to come in and assess Olympia immediately. Dr. Arad performed a thorough physical examination on her and came to the conclusion that she likely had a broken femur. He gave Olympia pain management to ease her suffering and she was brought to Fraser Heights Animal Hospital for a set of radiographs to gain more information regarding her condition.
The tests determined that Olympia did indeed have a severely broken femur. We had a blood panel taken to decide if she was strong enough to be put under anesthetic to have the leg repaired. Olympia’s blood work came back unremarkable and Dr. Arad determined it was safe to proceed with the procedure.
Olympia was able to have her procedure at Fraser Heights Animal Hospital performed the next day. Dr. Arad hoped that the leg could be repaired and saved. Unfortunately, Olympia’s fractured femur was an older injury that already had calcified incorrectly. Dr. Arad did absolutely everything he could to try to save her leg, but the only option in the end for a healthy and happy life was amputation. Dr. Arad proceeded with Olympia’s amputation, and the team at Fraser Heights provided nursing care for her immediately after her procedure.
Olympia went home with a staff member that night so that she could receive 24-hour monitoring and supervision. Although the first night after surgery was very difficult for her, Olympia adjusted very quickly. Her pain was managed well throughout her entire recovery and, by the next morning, she was moving around slowly in her kennel, using her litter box and eating well. Olympia had to wear an e-collar so that she did not chew or irritate her incision, which healed within weeks, though she had to be confined to a small cage to allow for enough healing time.
Olympia healed very well and quickly became accustomed to having only three legs! She was slowly allowed more room to move around and is now just like any other cat. Her hair eventually grew back, she put on weight and is a very healthy cat.
Olympia is now living her life to the fullest and will never have to be hungry or hurt again!
Olympia’s story is possible only because RAPS has support from the community to fulfill our NO-KILL promise. In almost any other jurisdiction, an animal with Olympia’s level of need would have been euthanized.
To ensure RAPS saves and improves the lives of more animals than ever before, we are constructing the RAPS Regional Animal Hospital. This will allow us to care for animals like Olympia without incurring big external medical bills. Moreover, the hospital will give RAPS a source of revenue to allow us to do more for more animals.
All of this is possible only because of your support. Thank you.
