Hounded Down and Nearly Killed by a Hit-and-Run Motorist, Eli Desperately Needs Additional Surgeries in Order to Fully Restore His Previous Level of Mobility

Eli Is Bravely Soldiering On Despite All the Pain and Sorrow

"He plays more than any cat we've had. He is a real lover of life!"
-- Yvonne Reelick of the Better Days Rescue Fund

Eli is extremely fortunate to still be alive. Sometime recently, presumably in either late winter or early spring, he was run down by a hit-and-run motorist and left for dead.

Since he also was homeless, he did not have a guardian to turn to for help even if he had been able to have made it back home with his broken pelvis and dislocated hip. The nature of his injuries also tend to suggest that he was struck from either the side or the rear.

The mere fact that he survived is a pretty good indication that he was racing for the safety of the shoulder of the road and had just about made it when he was struck; otherwise the motorist surely would have left tire marks all over his tiny little head. Like all incidents of this sort, there can be little doubt that the assault was a premeditated one on the part of an individual who gets his (these cretins are almost exclusively males) perverted jollies by running down helpless kittens and cats. (See Cat Defender post of June 25, 2015 entitled "Kayden Is Run Down Three Times in Succession by a Van Driver in Yet Still Another Graphic Example of How So Many Motorists Intentionally Kill Cats.")

So debilitating were Eli's injuries that it is doubtful that he was able to move at all save for using his front paws in order to drag the remainder of his body along behind him. Even so, the pain associated with doing that much could not possibly have been anything other than excruciating.

Radiographs of Eli's Broken Pelvis and Dislocated Hip

Under such hellish circumstances, procuring food and water would have been almost impossible tasks. Locating shelter in order to escape the elements and the avoidance of both human and animal predators would have been equally challenging. Mercifully, he had the bon sens thereafter to have stayed out of the roads.

How long that he was forced to persevere in such a state has not been disclosed but the good news is that his plight eventually did come, one way or the other, to the attention of an unidentified Good Samaritan who was able to trap him. The mere fact that a trap was required in order to corral him is a pretty good indication that he still possessed a modicum of both mobility and strength.

That in turn could possibly also imply that he was rescued not too long after he was attacked. Although some homeless cats have been known to survive these types of assaults without the assistance of either Good Samaritans or veterinarians, they usually are left crippled for life.

They bravely attempt to carry on as best they can by limping around in pain but it is doubtful that they live for very long. Sooner or later either their injuries, the horrific pain, or a vicious dog usually end up killing them.

Eli Has Adjusted to Life Indoors...

What occurred next is far from clear but the Good Samaritan apparently took Eli to an unidentified veterinarian where screws and plates were inserted in order to repair his broken bones and to save his injured leg. That turned out to have been the second life-saving break that the young tuxedo with a white face and a cute black nose and chin received in that it is almost unheard of for any practitioner to treat an injured cat unless either he or she is paid in advance and handsomely at that.

Merely rescuing injured and dying cats is, accordingly, woefully insufficient; rather, caring individuals also must be willing to pay the Shylocks of the veterinary medical profession their customary pounds of flesh as well.  (See Cat Defender posts of July 16, 2010 and March 19, 2014 entitled, respectively, "Tossed Out the Window of a Car Like an Empty Beer Can, an Injured Chattanooga Kitten Is Left to Die after at Least Two Veterinarians Refused to Treat It" and "The Cheap and Greedy Moral Degenerates at PennVet Extend Their Warmest Christmas Greetings to an Impecunious, but Preeminently Treatable, Cat Via a Jab of Sodium Pentobarbital.")

Following treatment, the Good Samaritan made arrangements for Eli to be taken in by the Better Days Rescue Fund in Roxbury, sixty-six kilometers northwest of Norwalk. On its web site, the charity declares that its mission is "to bring better days to abandoned cats and kittens through direct rescue, TNR, and education."

At Better Days, Eli has a little bit of the best of two worlds in that he has access to a warm bed inside the sanctuary's "cat habitat" as well as its fenced-in grounds outside. How much use he is able to make of the latter is unclear considering the extent of his injuries and the discomfort associated with walking.

Despite having had his life tossed upside down, he seems to have adjusted surprisingly well to the sanctuary. "He is incredibly cute, a real goofball!" Better Days' Yvonne Reelick confided to the Connecticut Post of Norwalk on July 1st. (See "Rescued Cat Needs More Surgery to Continue Road to Recovery.") "He has already found a girlfriend at the sanctuary and is fitting right in."

... but He Still Loves the Great Outdoors

Well, that certainly is not the least bit surprising considering that he is such a handsome devil on top of being a natural-born snake charmer. Why, with him now in residence every female at the facility surely must feel that her virtue is being put to the test.

Moreover, the evil and damage so unjustly inflicted upon him by the savage race does not appear to have diminished his enthusiasm for life. "He plays more than any cat we've had," Reelick recently declared on Better Days' web site. "He is a real lover of life!"

After most likely having spent just about all of his life on his own, Eli is quite understandably rather fearful and distrustful of Reelick and staffers at the sanctuary and as a result he is going to require considerable socialization before he can be put up for adoption. "We are hoping to be his friend one day soon," she declares on her web site.

In that regard, Eli would appear to have wound up at the right place in that although Better Days began about a dozen years ago as a more or less typical feline rescue operation, since then it has morphed into one that concentrates upon those that have special needs and are homeless. "I learned pretty quickly how to work with the feral cats and (to) provide them the care they need without traumatizing them," Reelick told the Connecticut Post. "I have a soft spot for feral and special-needs cats who were dealt a pretty bad hand in life, but they have an amazing tenacity and a strong will to survive."

Like so many other rescuers and practitioners of TNR, she also has come to the belated realization that there are few undertakings in life that are quite as fulfilling as working with abandoned and forgotten cats. "Feral cats don't trust easily but when they decide you're okay, it's a wonderful reward for the hard work," she told the Connecticut Post. "We are the land of misfit toys and we love each and every personality that joins us."

 Eli, left, Needs Money for Treatment and Rehabilitation

It is not necessarily one of the species' more admirable virtues, but it is well-known that its members can be bribed and Reelick already has exploited that character flaw to the hilt in order to bend Eli to her will. "He certainly appreciates treats," she freely acknowledges on her organization's web site.

He additionally seems not to have any problem with living indoors. "Eli loves the comfort of the couch just like all cats," she adds on her web site.

He is, however, going to require additional surgeries and extensive rehabilitation in order to restore the level of mobility that he previously enjoyed. Unfortunately for him, the money to cover the cost of that treatment is not currently available.

Anyone who therefore would be willing to financially help him to get back on his feet is encouraged to contact Better Days at either Post Office Box 116, Roxbury, Connecticut 06783 USA or online at www.betterdaysrescuefund.org.

Photos: Better Days.