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Back in April 2019, a stray cat was seen wandering near Valrico, Florida. What made this cat different was a thick crust covering it’s poor tiny body. So when a caring citizen spotted the feline near State Road 60, they knew the cat was in need of saving. They contacted a local rescue organization who sent a team of their TNR trappers to investigate. If needed, they would attempt to trap the cat, have it fixed and the medical issues addressed, then released. But when they arrived, they found an absolutely sweet Siamese kitty suffering from a severe case of mange.

The suffering cat needed much more than treatment for her mange and food, she needed a forever home indoors.

The volunteers with St. Francis Society Animal Rescue in Tampa, Florida receive messages DAILY to help suffering felines. So when this call came in, they investigated with heavy hearts. How many people had seen this feline over time and essentially allowed it to suffer by ignoring it? The caring souls with St. Francis refused to leave it to fate.

Traps were set, but with the pop of the top on the can of food, everything they had planned changed. The cat simply followed the trappers into the trap, completely focused on the food. There didn’t seem to be a stray or feral bone in her tiny body.

They rushed her to the vet to begin to treat the mange and additional issues from living on the streets. Mange is a condition caused by parasitic mites that burrow under the skin. They can cause itching, skin irritation and hair loss. It is curable but it not something that fades without consistent and intense attention. It is also extremely contagious–even from animals to humans in some cases.

Experienced foster mom, Andrea Budkis Christian, was happy to take on the challenge of saving the sweet girl. She wouldn’t be the first cat–or likely the last–that Andrea pulled from the brink of severe mange. They named her Coriander and she joined Andrea’s foster home on April 12th.

She is so underweight, anemic, covered in thick crusty scabies–so much pain for this girl.

Only a few days later and Coriander was happily resting at Andrea’s home. Her once lonely and painful existence on the streets would be a distant memory, happily left in the past.

Coriander had a quiet day. I let her rest all day on her heating pad. She has a small amount of pain killer on board to help her relax. The scabies were eating her alive. I know I am touching her without gloves, but I wash very well, and it is easier to pet her and clean her without gloves. Each day we should see improvements in her but she has a LOT of healing to do before we can find her Forever Family.

As the days went by and the mange began to clear up, a gorgeous Seal Point Siamese cat began to emerge.

During her follow up visit at the vet, they were able to determine that she is only about 6 to 8 months old. She had gained over a pound since being in Andrea’s foster care and getting food regularly. Subsequently, the fact that she was likely feeling better probably helped her appetite.

She is Neg/Neg for FIV and FeLV! Her left hip is grinding or popping but we won’t know more about that until she is healthy enough for her spay surgery. They will X-Ray then. She was an absolute doll baby at the vet and purred the whole time, even while they drew blood. We are on the right track!

The patches of fur that had fallen off her delicate body from the severe mange soon began to grow back. And only a week after she first came to Andrea’s home, she lost the last bit of the crusty severe mange!

Coriander is crust free! Tomorrow she will be having her first official bath with some medicated shampoo to help prevent other interesting things from growing on her healing skin. She could NOT be a sweeter little patient. She is very quiet and it is obvious she is still feeling puny, but her personality is starting to shine.

Over the next month, Coriander’s “resting-judgy-face” graced Andrea’s social media pages–to everyone’s delight!

Even though this sweet little grump face may be present more often than not, Coriander is as charming as ever.

But by the beginning of June, it was time for Andrea to let her blue-eyed beauty go.

As you know, the goal is goodbye when fostering. So on June 5th, Coriander officially went up for adoption.

This evening I made my beautiful Coriander available for adoption. Writing her bio made me sad, happy sad and sad sad. I love all of these kitties so much and I always worry they will go to the wrong home and won’t get the love and attention I hope for them.

And even with her sweet scowl, it wasn’t long before the applications from the gorgeous girl started coming in.

It was less than a week later that Andrea made a happy announcement about the Siamese who’d come back from the brink of succumbing to scabies.

Thank you as always to St. Francis Society Animal Rescue team and to Andrea @turtlecatfoster. Congratulations to Coriander and her new mom!! She’s even got a pretty new collar so everyone knows she has a loving home. And is that a smile we see?!

REMEMBER: SPAY/NEUTER, FOSTER, VOLUNTEER, TNR & AS ALWAYS, ADOPT, DON’T SHOP!

Related Story: Stray Ginger Cat Has Mange So Bad He Can’t See; Now Look What A Little Love Has Done For Him! Related Story: This Itty-Bitty Rescued Kitty Is Learning To Love Thanks To One Woman

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