Campaign Details
The Story of IVAR the Paralyzed Kitten:
One hot July day, I found 6 kittens at a construction site after one of the kittens came to me and insistently led me to his 5 other siblings. I asked around about the whereabouts of the kittens’ mother and found out that the mother cat had passed away a few weeks after she gave birth to her kittens and they were all left alone at the construction site. The good-hearted construction workers had been feeding the orphaned kittens, to the best of their knowledge and financial capabilities, processed cheese, bread, and sardines, which helped keep the kittens alive, but gave most of them a severe diarrhea. We could pet the kittens a little bit, but it was impossible to catch them and keep them on the ground floor, so I borrowed a trapping cage from another rescuer in order to save them, bring them back to health, and put them up for adoption, but, after a long wait, the trapping cage did not work and none of the kittens were caught because they were too light-weighted to cause the cage door to close once they entered it. And since nobody else was there to help me, I was left with no other option but to keep the kittens where they were born at the construction site and to bring them healthy kitten food every few days, which the construction workers promised they would feed to them several times a day when I could not.
I had also instructed the construction workers to put the food INSIDE the apartment that had the terrace they were on, and to lead them bit by bit, with the food plates I had gotten for them, into the house’s doorway, and down the safe stairs inside the building, until they were led out of the construction site and to a safer area on the ground floor.
The next day, when I called one of the workers to see how things were going, he informed me that he had to abort the plan because the owner of the building did not allow them to use the stairs from fear that the food might smell and drive potential clients away (even though it was still a super messy under-construction building!). The owner of the building also threatened to poison the kittens. The construction worker was then obliged to stop feeding the kittens so that they would have to use the stairs on their own and leave the building, and his plan worked for most of them except for ONE, SWEET IVAR, who fell off the terrace, broke his back, and was left helpless, alone, confused, and away from his siblings, with totally paralyzed back legs… CRYING in despair.
I remember I received a call from the construction worker telling me about IVAR's fall, and I was hearing his heartbreaking cries through the phone, so I rushed to take him to the nearest vet in the sad little empty paint bucket that the construction workers had put him in.
I asked the vet to do all the necessary X-rays and tests for him and to do everything needed to help him, regardless of the cost.
Everyone advised me to accept to euthanize IVAR but that was NOT even an option in my mind because when I asked the vet, he told me that the kitten was not feeling any pain at all. He was scared at first, of course, like we would all be if we were in such a terrible accident, but the fact was that IVAR still had a great appetite for food and an amazing hunger for LIFE and LOVE.
So, who are we to decide whether he should live or not if HE wants to live and is showing all signs for it?
Anyway, I paid all expenses for the kitten and bought him all the necessary high quality food, wipes, shampoo, litter, litter box, and everything that would ensure a comfortable life for him, and I put him at the vet’s paid boarding until I could find him a foster home or an adopter.
I could not keep him at my place because I was already taking care of my 5 rescued/adopted cats and I did not have enough time during the day to take care of him, as I was leaving the country in a few days.
After a couple of days, there was a potential adopter for IVAR, a sweet girl who contacted me and said she had fallen in love with the kitten’s posted photos and really wanted to adopt and take care of him. After thoroughly interviewing the girl and making sure (from the girl’s and the boyfriend’s answers) that they were able EAGER to take care of the kitten, I went to pick up the girl and her boyfriend so we could all go see IVAR at the vet’s. We arrived and the vet’s assistant brought him to the examination table. He was de-flea-d and cleaned and as we were all there, we witnessed his happy purrs. He started purring again, exactly like he and his siblings used to purr when I gave them food and gently petted them at the construction site.
It was one of the happiest moments for me... Everyone agreed to name the kitten Ivar because he was paralyzed like "Ivar the Boneless" and was a true warrior. After I asked the adopter girl AGAIN if she was sure she wanted to adopt Ivar, and I received a sure positive answer, I bought more supplies for them; his medications, and enough food, litter, and wipes for 3 full months.
I also promised to send them money from Canada to cover Ivar’s living expenses for the rest of his life. Feeling happy and reassured, I then drove the girl and her boyfriend to their place and went back home to finish my work.
That same evening, however, I received a call from the girl who had adopted Ivar. The girl was crying and begging me to go to her house and take Ivar back because her parents were threatening to kill him and throw him away… After speaking with the girl’s mother and realizing for sure that the parents really meant their threats, I rushed again to the girl’s house to save Ivar once again from the cruelty that can possess some human beings.
Once again, Ivar was left at the vet’s boarding room and I was posting about him everywhere on social media platforms because I was desperate and running out of time before my flight to Canada, which was going to be very soon. Luckily, Michelle Kahwaji, a wonderful foster lady and rescuer, saw my posts and offered to foster Ivar and keep him at her boarding home for as long as was needed until a good adopter was found for him. She has a lot of experience in dealing with special cases and special needs animals and I was thrilled that she had contacted me, so I took Ivar and all the supplies I had bought for him that same evening to her boarding home.
The next day, Michelle and I took Ivar to another AMAZING vet who was well-known for his humane and loving soul and great expertise in dealing with special cases, to see if there could be a chance for Ivar to walk again. The vet loved Ivar and his name, treated him with tender and loving care, but said that the chances he could ever walk again were very slim. Regardless, he still took the time to instruct Michelle on the daily physiotherapy she could give to Ivar in the hopes that it would help in any possible ways, and he prescribed medications for Ivar’s deworming and his then very inflamed legs. That wonderful vet spent almost an hour with Michelle and me, explaining to us the results of the X-rays he had taken again for Ivar, demonstrating the physiotherapy techniques, and answering every single one of our questions and concerns, and in the end, he did not even accept to charge us anything at all for his time and efforts! (He knew Michelle as a rescuer and foster mother from before; she used to always rush to him with desperate cases of very sick or injured animals after other people had turned their backs and given up on them and he would always save them). That same day, I drove Michelle to the pharmacy to get the necessary medications for Ivar and then drove her and Ivar back to her foster home. Michelle took such great care of Ivar – even though she had dozens of other cases to take care of, all ALONE, in her foster home – Ivar healed completely from his inflamed legs and irritated tummy, in no time at all, and immediately began to thrive!
A couple of days later, I had to fly to Canada, so I went to see Michelle and Ivar again before I had to leave the country for good. Saying goodbye to our sweet loving purring Ivar was very hard for me, and I was in tears as I held him and petted him and felt his purrs and sweet little kneading paws on my arms, but I was happy because I knew for sure that he was in good hands and that I was going to get constant updates about him from Michelle.
Michelle kept in constant contact with me, always sending me pictures and videos of Ivar and updating me with news about him. He was happy, thriving, eating, drinking, playing, and purring and was always given a lot of love and affection.
Then, one day, a random guy contacted Michelle and was passionately offering himself as an adopter for Ivar. Michelle and I were thrilled, and after she met the guy, interviewed him and made sure that he knew what he was doing, she gave him Ivar and taught him how to take care of him. The guy took Ivar during the beginning of September and was so happy with him. He named him Buddy and gave him as much care and attention as he could, even though he had to be away at work for 14 hours a day. He shared happy photos of him and Ivar on his Facebook account, and it made us so happy to see them enjoying each other’s company. Sadly, in mid-November, the adopter, who was a foreigner living in Lebanon, got a call from his home country urging him to join the obligatory military service, and he had to leave the country almost immediately. The adopter communicated his issue with me and Michelle and raised yet another concern… Since he was away from home at work for almost 14 hours a day, he did not notice that Ivar’s back legs were beginning to get irritated and inflamed again because he was constantly dragging them behind him on the hard floor for almost 3 months, without any protection over them, as he was regularly moving around the adopter’s house to play, eat, and do his business. Both Michelle and I instructed the adopter to take Ivar to that same AMAZING vet we took him to before and he did. He came back with Ivar’s legs wrapped in protection and he sent us his photo.
Michelle was then staying at her village to take care of her sick mother but when it was time to take Ivar from the adopter, she took a cab all the way to the adopter’s house and took sweet Ivar back from him that same evening. Ivar was thrilled to see Michelle and immediately rushed to the crate that she had held for him. When she arrived at her foster home with Ivar, Michelle spoke with the same AMAZING vet, and the latter recommended a procedure that would help Ivar live a super happy and almost normal life.
Ivar is now 5 months old and a happy thriving kitten! We were hoping he could walk again but the physiotherapy he was given did not help in that. Now poor boy IVAR has severely infected back legs and we know we need to do the surgery because we want him to live the great life he deserves!
Ivar is now in need of URGENT surgery to amputate his back legs and tail so he can live well, be happy, and give as much love as he always longs to. He will also be neutered, so he will be needing 2 surgeries: one for one leg and tail, and another for the other leg and neutering.
PLEASE HELP US HELP A PURE & LOVING SOUL!!!
Michelle is going to design suitable protective clothing for him so he can easily drag himself around on his teeny tiny furry butt when he recovers from surgery, as well as custom-made wheels to enjoy his time even more! Until then, we require your help with the cost of the surgeries! If each of you helped with EVEN a small amount and shared the post to reach more amazing people, we can help a loving soul live a great and happy life!
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