Cat of the Month, April 2019: Pablo

As is the unfortunate nature of any veterinary practice, our team sees these cases all too often: An injured stray will be brought to our door, and our team will do what they can to help the pet. As a priority, we will make sure they are comfortable and then reach out to the agencies that can best help reunite them with their owners and/or get them the extended care they need.

Well, Pablo turned out to be a special case. When he was brought in last June, we were not sure he had much time left. He was severely underweight, had matted fur, large open wounds on his thigh and neck filled with maggots, and he needed immediate surgical intervention. What could we do? We knew we wanted him to have a fighting chance, so Rainier Veterinary Hospital opted to take on his care. Dr. Cassidy took the lead and performed four surgeries over the next two months to repair his wounds and ultimately save his life.

Pablo, estimated to be about 12-years-old, still had some hurdles ahead. While he would have to recover from his multiple surgeries, his bloodwork also showed he was going to have to contend with some underlying, chronic health conditions moving forward.

That is where the love story begins. Rainier Veterinary Hospital’s own assistant Danni (who we should add is not a cat person and is really quite allergic) fell in love with Pablo while she helped care for him during his recovery. In the end, she didn’t give her family much choice about adopting him. Pablo, once recovered from his multiple surgeries, was coming home!

“I can’t believe we are already coming up on our one-year anniversary,” said Danni. “That is really special to us because based on his health assessment, we thought he would only have about six-months left to live. So almost twice as long as we thought!”

Continued Danni, “Now we have to get him to lose weight so he’ll hopefully be with us much, much longer.”

What Is in a Name?

We christened him Pablo Picasso, well, due to the positioning of his body parts after numerous surgeries,” shared Danni. “His anus is off center now from the first surgery, part of his stomach fur is now on his thigh and he has a nipple on his thigh. So, it reminded me of some of Picasso’s paintings.”

Pablo, like most beloved pets, also has tons of great nicknames. His include Pawbs, Pawby, Fatty, Butthead (when he nibbles on hands), Monkey and Motormouth (because he has the loudest purr this side of the Mississippi).

His Story Continues

Pablo is no longer lost, alone and on the streets. He now has a loving family to cuddle with and has even developed a cuddle routine before bedtime which includes his super loud purr helping to lull everyone to sleep. In the morning, he regularly waits by the armchair for Danni’s husband to sit down for their 20 minutes of cuddle time before work.

In general, Pablo loves food and his pill pockets for his thyroid meds. Continued Danni, “in the morning he’ll wake us up for food by purring in our faces, walking on our heads or nibbling on hands, or the worst, underarm fat!”

Now on the road to recovery, Pablo’s personality comes through quite loudly. He is almost like a dog trapped in a cat’s body. He is super affectionate and cuddly, greets you at the door when you come home.

“He continues to be so patient and tolerant of what I ask of him,” said Danni. “For example, he doesn’t like playing dress up, and often gives me the ‘Really, mom’? look, but still lets me do it, ha, ha. On the other hand, the hubby describes him as indignant and curious; pretty much what you would expect of a cat who has been through so much.”

We are so glad to honor this special kitty as our April Cat of the Month and that we all had a part in shaping his new life. And it’s wonderful to see Pablo continuing to thrive in his new home. We hope Pablo and his family have much time together in the years to come.

About Our Cat of the Month Program

Here’s how our Cat of the Month program works: Each staff member provides a nomination for the distinguished honor, and then we vote. The highest vote wins! Any kitty patients who visit us during the prior month are eligible.