A lost friend, a happy reunion and the heartbreaking realization that something awful happened to their beloved cat.
Korky, a 2-year-old male tuxedo cat, had his life changed forever when he went missing from
his Auburn home. The family looked everywhere, but alas it was Korky himself who found his 
way back. Unfortunately, what was a joyful reunion quickly turned to the realization that their beloved kitty was gravely injured.
At first, Korky’s injuries appeared to be from an animal attack, but x-rays taken at Rainier Veterinary Hospital revealed quite another tale. Korky had actually been shot. The shrapnel shattered his front leg while another piece injured his eye. This left Korky in a great deal of pain and in need of essential lifesaving surgery to get him on the road to recovery.
This is where the Rainier Animal Fund and an amazing group of cat-loving donors stepped in to help ensure Korky had access to the veterinary care he so desperately needed.
Korky’s medical needs ended up being quite extensive. After evaluation at Rainier Veterinary Hospital, it was determined that Korky would need to have his leg and shoulder amputated as well as have his injured eye removed. (Always such a hard conversation to have with a pet parent, but in the end, we can truly say that pets do adapt to these life changes. With loving care and support, they find their new path.)
The next difficult step was finding an available surgeon and veterinary practice that could take care of Korky’s surgeries. (It should be noted that the veterinary industry has been impacted hard by the COVID crisis leaving many practices with extensive waitlists for care.) Of course, Korky couldn’t wait, so we did our best to secure some partners.
Thankfully, veterinary surgical specialist Dr. Mike Weh volunteered to help with the case and 
the team at Elliott Bay Animal Hospital stepped in to provide us with the support staff and hospital facilities needed to make it all happen.
With the team set and Korky stabilized, he was rolled in to surgery on Friday, May 28, 2021.
Korky was an exceptional patient and handled the procedures and recovery well. It was a long surgery with multiple veterinary professionals helping with the procedures, but it all went quite smoothly. In the end, his life as he knew it was altered, but he would soon be out of pain and back home with the family who loves him so. The goal was to reunite them all as soon as possible.
As of this posting, we are two weeks out from Korky’s surgery. He continues to recover at home with his family and is due to have his stitches out on Saturday, June 12th. After that, the world is his again. He may now be an indoor cat, but he is surrounded by those who love him and will be looking forward to new inside adventures with his beloved family dogs. Here is to an amazing life sweet Korky!!
Also, really important to do a quick shout out to the Cats of Seattle Facebook group. Their members from around the country all stepped up quickly to help fund Korky’s care. Cats of Seattle along with our friends at Alley Cat Project, Dr. Mike Weh, Dr. Jenny Brown, Elliott Bay Animal Hospital, Rainier Veterinary Hospital and all our amazing Rainier Animal Fund donors and 
volunteers helped make this possible and we cannot thank you enough! You are our heroes! You were all there for a lost, broken kitty in the night. You got him back home.
For more information on the Rainier Animal Fund, their upcoming clinics and to make a donation, please visit rainieranimalfund.org.
