Jasmine
Success Stories
Jasmine
National, TN - 2013
Jasmine came into my life by way of a friend of a friend the day before I moved from Nebraska to North Carolina to start graduate school. Twelve years later, I’m still in graduate school (for a further degree) and still have Jasmine. She’s been a wonderful companion despite merely tolerating anyone else’s presence. Just over a year ago I had to say goodbye to my male cat Daniel due to an untreatable medical condition. In the past few months I've noticed that Jasmine had lost some weight, but friends and family assured me that she was probably just missing Donald and losing weight as she got older.
Last Thursday, I noticed a swelling on her face. Thinking that she’d likely bumped into something, I figured that I’d let it wait a few days. She’d been acting normal, eating regularly and showing no signs of pain or discomfort. However, she started scratching at it late Saturday night. I got an evening appointment at my vet for Monday night. Late Sunday what looked like a scratch was growing. Monday as I was getting ready to take her to the vet, it looked like she’d scratched herself again. Upon wiping her face, her cheek ruptured.
Fortunately a couple of friends met me at the vet and helped me keep calm (or somewhat calm). My family had been pushing me to put her to sleep since she’s now 14 years-old and clearly had some sort of serious problem. Having been in graduate school for so long and currently working in an entry-level position at a company to pay, my budget is really tight. The vet examined Jasmine and said that it looked like she’d had a tooth abscess that had built up and caused her cheek to rupture. But, she didn’t think that it was ground to put her down despite her age; she could be treated and live several more healthy years. They kept her overnight and operated on her the next day. She had Odontoclastic Resorption Lesions. They had to remove six teeth and cut away part of the outer skin/fur layer on her cheek where the skin had died due to the abscess. But, she will be okay now. I brought her home on Tuesday night with a huge hole in her cheek that has closed rather quickly. Other than running into the wall occasionally because of her cone (so she doesn’t scratch at her cheek as it heals), she’s back to normal. I take her back to the vet for a follow up appointment Monday.
I’m really grateful to my friends who were there to offer solace and advice, including directing me to BDF. I cannot convey how incredibly happy I am that Jasmine will be with me for several more years.
I'm hoping the fact that Jasmine is in a box means that Megan is shipping her to me! What a cute pic...
Jasmine's treatment was made possible by the kind and generous attendees of the Moseley-Harris Engagement/Wedding Party.
