Mickey Cougar Has Been Euthanized

Note to volunteers:  Today the vet group was texting back and forth about Mickey's latest challenge, which was a runny nose and congestion.  Kathryn went to get photos and videos of the coughing, sneezing and mucous, but what her camera captured broke our hearts instantly when we witnessed it.  When Mickey was rescued in 2014, I remember Dr. Wynn doing a routine exam on his joints while he was at her clinic.  He was in such bad shape, and his knees were out of socket, and he had bad teeth, and was starved nearly to death and we wrestled for a long time as to whether the humane thing to do would be to just end his misery back then.

 

We decided to call in an orthopedic expert, Dr. Hay because Mickey had such a strong will to live.  Two surgeries later, he was walking better than he'd been able to in a long time, but we knew, from the extreme damage to the joints, that we were only buying him a little time.  Fast forward three years and Mickey has recently been having seizures, his front ankles have collapsed from years of shifting his weight forward to walk, and now he was sneezing and coughing.

 

Kathryn's video today showed his back left leg to now have come completely out of the joint, and I'll post that video to an unlisted link, but be warned it is extremely hard to watch.  There were no more options for our sweet Mickey.  Amputation of the leg would put even more pressure on his collapsed front legs and his other badly damaged back leg.  His body was just completely giving out on him and no matter how much we wish we could make him better, there was nothing left to do.  Dr. Wynn came in today to euthanize him so that he wouldn't know another day of misery.  Now he is free of pain and running free toward his next big adventure.  Thank you to everyone who loved him, cared for him and who had the strength today to do what was best for him.

 

You can post your tributes to Mickey at https://bigcatrescue.org/mickey/

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk