Freda was rushed to the emergency hospital on Sunday shortly after her arrival at Tabby’s Place. Words can hardly describe the state of this poor girl. Clearly an older adult, she weighed in at just 3.5 pounds.

“In all my years of practice, I’ve never seen an adult that weighed less than 4 pounds,” our vet remarked in shock as she gave me instructions for Freda’s care over the phone. But, her weight wasn’t the only horrifying thing. Freda, a stray originally, clearly hadn’t received proper care for quite some time.

The fur on her back was severely matted with dirt and straw from the base of her neck to her tail. All of her nails were overgrown and some were embedded in the pads of her feet. (The picture to the right shows Freda just minutes after she arrived at Tabby’s Place.) Sadly, her appearance was the least of her problems.

After an evaluation at the emergency hospital it became clear that Freda had a whole list of medical issues including: dental disease, high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, a heart murmur, anemia, possible kidney disease, an upper respiratory infection, and a urinary tract infection. From what we can tell, Freda was most likely a stray when her thyroid levels became unregulated.

This weakened her making it difficult for her to hunt and sustain herself. Suffering from malnourishment and dehydration her organs then began shutting down. Had she not been found when she was she wouldn’t have lived more than a few days.

It was touch and go with Freda at the hospital as the staff there tried to rehydrate her without overwhelming her weakened heart.

Initially, the doctors had a very guarded prognosis for Freda, but she amazed everyone with her strength as she fought to make it through the first crucial days of her hospitalization.

During my visit with Freda yesterday a nurse claimed “Freda’s been a real trooper. She’s been eating well and is an angel for all of her medications and treatments.” She’s truly a sweetheart and happily purred and accepted some gentle scratches around head as she sat in my lap. (Freda is pictured on the left healing at the hospital.)

As she continues to get stronger and her medications begin to take effect we are hoping to see her infections subside and her hyperthyroidism controlled. At that point we will be able to determine if she’s suffered any permanent damage to her kidneys and heart. But, I feel the worst is over for Freda and hope to see her sweet face back home at Tabby’s Place soon.