The Rescue Of A Mystery Cat

By Kaaren Valenta

When Nancy Coburn and Deb Moran spotted the gray and white cat outside their office on Mile Hill Road last Friday, the animal was obviously in trouble.

“She was filthy – she looked like she was on death’s door,” Ms Moran said. “It almost looked like her leg was amputated.”

Mrs Coburn, whose husband, Gary, is the animal control officer in Ridgefield, knew they should do something. Ms Moran, an animal lover who has two cats and a kitten at home, agreed.

“I went out and talked to [the cat]. She let me get close enough finally to grab her leather collar and I discovered that her leg was caught through it. When I unhooked the collar and pulled it off, chunks of flesh also came off,” Ms Moran said.

The two women emptied the refrigerator in their office to leave food for the cat, and managed to take a few digital photos that they used to make posters to put up in the area. On Saturday morning, Ms Moran, who lives in Oxford, decided she had to return to the office in Newtown to try to trap the cat and take it to a veterinarian.

“I left food for her in a bowl and spent about an hour calling her, but nothing happened,” Ms Moran said. “I drove around and put up more posters, then went back to the office and there she was – eating out of the bowl. So I grabbed her in a blanket and took her to my vet.”

Because the cat’s leg was trapped in the collar, serious injuries and infection had occurred.

 “The armpit and the back of the neck were cut by the collar, and a massive infection had set in,” Ms Moran said. “The vet did blood tests, started antibiotics, gave her all her shots, and a bath, and sewed her up. The vet said she smelled like gasoline, so I assume she had been hanging around [the nearby service station on South Main Street.]”

Four days later Patches, as she was identified on a collar tag, was well enough to come home. Ms Moran paid the $560 vet bill.

“I put it on my credit card,” she said. “I didn’t have a choice – I couldn’t not help her.”

The vet estimated that the cat is five or six years old and weighs about seven pounds.

“She’s so tiny and will eat everything,” Ms Moran said. “She’s such as sweet cat – she had to come from a good home. All she wants is love.”

The cat’s collar also had a tag with the phone number of a San Jose, Calif., company. But when Ms Moran called the company, the answering machine had a message that “due to recent events, the company is closed.”

There were two emergency numbers on the answering machine tape, but when Ms Moran called them, all she got were more machines. “I left messages, but so far I haven’t heard anything,” she said.

Ms Moran has started to take up a collection to help pay the vet bill.

“So, Patches is quite a mystery girl,” Ms Moran said. “The vet said she’ll be just fine. She will be in temporary foster care, which will become permanent if her owners are never found. I would, however, like to recover the $560!”

Anyone who has information about the cat or who would like to help, can reach Ms Moran at 743-0040.