Golden Hearts Animal Sanctuary

A Sanctuary For Elderly & Special Needs Animals    

Leo the Lionhearted

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When I heard the phone message asking for help for this little guy, I said "yes" sight unseen. Labeled "feral" and with a mange-type skin condition, he really didn't stand a chance in the county shelter just before the July 4 weekend. And he wouldn't let anyone handle him either, a huge strike against his chance at a home. As he was picked up at the shelter, it was reported that it took padded gloves, large blankets, a lot of work to get close enough to him to put him in a carrier. It took all of an hour before he was sitting and purring in my lap once he was home!

This tough-guy feral cat is really just a sweet old tom cat who can't see because his eyelids are swollen due to the bad skin. He growls and hisses with quick movements, but a few soft words have him quietly waiting for someone to hold him. His "mange" was really a severe allergy (hey, Phoenix, just like you!). He really enjoys laptime and eating. And boy, does he eat! It will take some time to heal all of his physical wounds, but I think he will always be a very cautious kitty. "Leo the Lionhearted" befits him as a name because it's a brave kitty that went through everything he did. 

Leo has been neutered and vaccinated, and all of the fungal tests and skin scrapings were negative. Neither mites nor mange was his primary problem. His skin cleared up well for a couple of weeks, then began to get bad again. He had been introduced to the seniors in the Kitty Cabana, so he had indoor/outdoor access. It seemed that overnight his hair was missing again and his skin was crusty. We added Benedryl and a low dose of steroid to his daily medications, and the symptoms subsided. I can only imagine how miserable he was over the summer and fall of every year as he battled the outdoor elements. He has a couple of problems that we will deal with lifelong ~ his continual eye problems and allergies, and his viral status - he is FIV positive. FIV is found largely in unneutered male cats who live outdoors ~ hmm! It spreads by deep bite wounds from cat-to-cat. Since Leo is incredibly passive, we felt there was little threat to the Cabana cats. He now spends his days sunning himself on the Cabana porch, then is the first one in for dinner. Many purrs from Leo to his shelter angels Renee and Karen ~ he wouldn't be here today without you!!

Leo when he first arrived