Isley

Content warning: animal cruelty

The story we are about to tell you is one of the worst animal cruelty cases we’ve seen as an animal welfare organization. We are shocked this cat is alive. We are even more surprised that she is so happy and loving.

Her name is Isley, and she has endured and survived significant harm throughout her life. When you look at her pictures, you may think that she is a senior cat. But based on examinations by our veterinary care team, Isley is only about five years old.

We realize that sharing the details of Isley’s abuse will upset many of you but by sharing her origin story, it will make her story of hope and happiness that much sweeter. Companion animals are so resilient, and we are beyond grateful to give Isley a second chance.

What happened to Isley is extremely difficult to comprehend. If you wish to skip this part, please read on from the next paragraph. After multiple exams and x-rays, we’ve determined Isley sustained the following injuries while in her abusive home. All four of her legs, tail, skull, and hard palate have multiple old fractures. We suspect her abuser intentionally ground down her canine teeth to prevent painful bites from Isley defending herself. Isley’s front claws show signs of a botched declaw procedure as well.

There is nothing we can do to correct the old fractures, but we are keeping Isley comfortable with pain and arthritis medication. We are treating her for periodontal disease and awaiting results to see if she has mammary cancer. If the test results come back positive, we are hopeful that we caught it early enough to start treatment. We will remove her four canines through a dental procedure as they are causing her pain and are diseased. Our veterinary team has already spayed Isley and treated her for a UTI.

What Isley endured is unforgivable. We know, wholeheartedly, that we’d like to see the person that did this to her to be prosecuted. And that honestly wouldn’t be enough. While that piece of Isley’s story is out of our control, there is something that we can do. We can give Isley the best life to live starting now.

Watch a video compilation of Isley in her loving foster home.

Here’s where we need your help. We are creating a bucket list for Isley to make up for lost time, and we need your ideas to add to the list. We’re thinking of throwing her a birthday party, taking her to an aquarium, and giving her a gourmet meal. We know there are more ideas out there to help Isley squeeze every enjoyable moment of her new life. Please add your ideas here.