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Vet your pets: Mumbles the cat to be euthanized after lifetime of pain and neglect

Mumbles was found to have a severely disfigured jaw and several other health problems
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Mumbles the cat suffered a severely disfigured jaw and several other health issues, and was scheduled to be euthanized on Monday, April 25, 2022. (Courtesy of Nycki Wannamaker)

A cat from Sparwood was euthanized on Monday (Apr. 25) after a life of pain and neglect that could have been avoided with regular vet care.

Mumbles the cat was surrendered to the Twin Meadows Animal Rescue Society (TMARS) on Thursday, Apr. 14, from the Sparwood Animal Pound, where he stayed until being moved to a Fernie foster home that Saturday, when an intake exam conducted by TMARS pointed to a life of severe neglect and pain.

“I noticed his jaw was extremely malformed,” said Nycki Wannamaker of TMARS.

“His teeth were very rotten and abscessed, the few that he had left. It was really, really stinky.”

An appointment was scheduled for Mumbles to attend the Tanglefoot vet on Tuesday (Apr. 19) for an x-ray that found Mumbles had a full pellet lodged in his head behind his ear, and another pellet was shattered throughout his lower jaw.

He’s received no recorded vet care since he was neutered in 2010, when his jaw was noted to be potentially dislocated.

So, that is how Mumbles lived for over a decade: with a disfigured, infected jaw, filled with pellet fragments, and another pellet lodged in his head.

“There was no other vet care after 2010 for Mr. Mumbles,” Wannamaker said.

“We couldn’t repair the jaw because the fracture was far too much. It had spent years trying to re-place itself, and it would have been too traumatic for him.”

It was initially decided that they would pull the rotten teeth and let him eat soft food for the rest of his life. Mumbles was at a good weight, Wannamaker said, so he was already “used to lapping up soft food.”

Surgery was scheduled for Thursday (Apr. 21), but during his pre-anesthetic blood work, they found that Mumbles was in stage 3 kidney failure, was severely anemic, and had no white blood cells, despite having been on anti-biotics since Tuesday, Wannamaker said. Surgery could have killed him in that condition.

“So, we had to make the heart-wrenching decision to give him a few days of pain meds for his mouth, and we will euthanize him on Monday, after he spends a few days being loved and pain free,” Wannamaker said in an earlier interview with The Free Press.

A Monday Facebook post from TMARS confirmed that the procedure took place.

“Mumbles is at peace and his death was not in vain,” the post reads.

Wannamaker, who has been rescuing animals in the region for about 20 years, strongly encourages at least yearly vet visits for all pet owners to avoid situations like Mumbles’.

“Regular vet care would have absolutely enhanced his life… It would have ended differently for him.”

For pet owners who can’t afford vet visits, she said resources are available to help, especially if the animal is suffering.

“All they need to do is reach out to their local rescue, SPCA. There are resources out there for vetting.

“Even if you have to surrender your pet, you should love them enough to do what’s best for them.”

READ MORE: Amid suspicions over animal welfare, BC SPCA points to gaps in accountability

READ MORE: Twin Meadows hold 2nd Easter raffle to raise funds ahead of ‘kitten season’


@fishynewswatch
josh.fischlin@thefreepress.ca

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