r/GavrocheTheCat

I am still not sure if I met him before or if April Fool’s Day was the first day he appeared in my garden. It was the morning after the passing of my grandmother, I was looking out my bedroom window and the weather was so gloomy and miserable.

My neighbour’s cat Sausage was walking around my garden, making sure none of the other cats get into (as she thinks) her territory. She can go in and out of her house through the cat flap but prefers just staying in my garden even in the rain, probably because of being a water-loving Bengal. She does get very loud and wildly screams at any cat entering my garden, so seeing this little thing not reacting to her at all, my immediate instinct was to pull my phone out and film it so I could send it to my husband, but then I realised something was very wrong, and I just ran outside in my pyjamas and socks to scoop him up.

I am not sure if I ever saw him before, as we do have a couple of black neighbourhood cats who have a home and just wander around, but I am so glad it was my garden he landed in (or maybe my granny sent him to me?). I actually forgot how bad his breathing was, you can hear it in the second video, and going through the old recordings just makes me appreciate and be so proud of how far he has come! He is an absolute legend, a true fighter, and the sweetest little boy that we all love so much! 🖤🖤🖤

P.S. sorry about the state of my garden, it’s a very old house we recently purchased and it was abandoned for quite some time, but we are slowly getting it spruced up!

Little Gavroche had to put his pumpkin outfit back on. He is still trying to fight that nasty yeast infection in his ears and the drops are irritating them, so he keeps wanting to scratch and groom them. His ears looked quite angry, red and sore on Saturday (I’ll post the picture in the comments), so I popped the pumpkin back on and it looks a lot better now. The drops have a greasy, vaseline like texture so they make his head look wet.

I was trying to get him an appointment today to see if he could have some barrier cream or something to soothe the skin around his ear, but unfortunately they didn’t have any availability. It does look a lot better now though, and the inflammation has definitely reduced. This is the 3rd different ear drops he’s been on since April, so I really hope they finally help. He’s been tested for ear mites and doesn’t have them, but if the infection doesn’t clear up this time I’ll ask if the vet can take a swab to see where it’s actually coming from.

The vet said his infection is so chronic that his inner ear is very swollen, and she wasn’t able to see into the ear canal because it’s almost swollen shut. She said he might need some oral steroids to help with the inflammation, which he wasn’t previously allowed to have because he was on Metacam (pain relief). He hasn’t had his pain relief since Wednesday now and I haven’t noticed any changes in his behaviour, so his teeth must be healing okay.

We’re going to see the vet on Monday to have his ears checked and see if the drops are doing a good job. If his ears are doing okay he’ll stay on the drops, but if not he might be prescribed some oral medicine to help fight it. Gavroche will be accompanied by Lollipop this time, since it’s also time for Lollie’s vaccine booster.
Poor cherub isn’t the happiest bunny about the pumpkin and his annoying ears, but I’m trying to comfort him as much as possible and tell him it’s going to be worth it! 🖤

This is my 3 year old boy, Feather Ludwig, he reads Reddit with me every day and has loved following along with Gavroche. He LOVES his belly rubbed and brushed

Just wanted to show off my little (big) fella Rocky to you all! I’m so lucky to have been granted the sweetest cats. He came to me through CDS around 4 years ago and is the cuddliest, most affectionate fur ball. He’s very sweet tempered, doesn’t mind other cats, and hopefully will be meeting Gavroche in person very soon. I’m still working on introductions and taking everything slowly, making sure the whole process is comfortable for them so they love each other from first sight.

Rocky is a big boy. He weighed 6.5kg this morning, which is actually pretty good for him, because when I first got him he was around 8kg and overweight, so we put him on a diet. His weight isn’t the lowest it’s ever been but it’s staying steady now. We don’t have any documents to prove it, but apparently he’s a Norwegian Forest Cat. He’s 10 years old and loves eating and cuddling, he really acts more like a dog than a cat. He hates brushing, which is honestly my only issue with him because he gets matted. He needs at least 3 big cuddles a day where he purrs and tries to suckle on my ear, but his claws are so big I have to hold his paws because his biscuits can really hurt! I call him Edward Scissorhands because he wants to give you love but ends up hurting you at the same time. He also goes by Barry White, walrus of love 😂

Hope everyone’s doing well! We’re going through another heat wave so all three cats are pretty timid today, just stretched out on the floor. Tomorrow’s cooling down though, so it shouldn’t get too hot inside the house. Happy Friday everyone! 🖤

In case you missed it, I posted earlier today about the findings on his abdominal scan, the enlarged kidney, gallbladder, and lymph nodes, with a few possible reasons that didn’t sound like a good outcome. So he’d had some blood and urine tests done, and the vet just called to say that his kidney and liver function look absolutely normal, his urine is fine, and there are no infection markers in his blood. There’s a possibility that one of his kidneys failed a long time ago, so the other grew bigger to compensate by overworking, or he was just born that way. There’s still a possibility of cancer, but cancer would usually cause weight loss, and he’s been steadily gaining weight since I got him and improving in every aspect of his health and appearance. So I’ve been told to monitor his weight, make sure he’s not losing any, and repeat the scan in a few months to check for changes (this time it would only be a short scan).

It’s been an absolute emotional rollercoaster, but I feel very relieved now 🖤

He’s also had some new ear drops prescribed, since his ear infection is still there. I just put them in and they’re making his ears very itchy, so I popped his pumpkin cone on. He has to have them for 7 days, and then we’ll visit the vet again to check the progress, he might need some oral steroids for it since the infection has been there for ages and we couldn’t resolve it with 2 kinds of drops he had previously.

If I did not have this Reddit community I would probably go insane, because I’ve just been so worried for the past couple of weeks, causing myself a huge headache yesterday and throwing up at work (sorry for too much info). It’s not Gavroche’s fault, but in a way it is, because he’s just so lovable and cute, I cannot imagine watching him suffer. Thank you so much, you all 🖤🖤🖤

‼️ EDIT - PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY LATEST POST, GOT RESULTS BACK AND THINGS DON’T LOOK AS BAD

Our lovely boy is back from his scan. Unfortunately I don’t have the best news, and we are still waiting for his blood results and urine test to come back to determine the exact diagnosis. The lump is an enlarged kidney, and it could be anything from chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, polycystic kidney disease, to renal lymphoma. His gallbladder also looked enlarged on the scan, and I was asked if he’s showing any symptoms such a gallbladder issue could cause, like vomiting or weight loss, which he doesn’t have. One of his lymph nodes is also bigger, which could indicate lymphoma or just be a sign of infection.

It’s not the outcome I was expecting, and from the last vet phone call it didn’t sound like his condition could be benign, but I am still hoping for a miracle and trying not to get too upset before we have a clearer answer.

He had a full ultrasound with sedation, and I was only able to afford it because of the help of this wonderful community, so thank you so much for being there.

Whatever happens, I am willing to go with the most appropriate treatment to improve his quality of life and keep him comfortable, instead of just extending the suffering. At the minute he seems comfortable and happy, which keeps me at ease 🖤

MODS PLEASE DELETE IF NOT ALLOWED.

Hello Nick Cave fans,
Basically what the title says. I’ve come across some financial difficulties and I’m thinking of ways to raise some money to fund my cat’s treatment. He’s having a scan this Thursday which could cost anywhere from £100 to £500, depending on whether he needs to be sedated for it (I’ll find out on the day), and there could be some treatment needed afterwards depending on what they find.

So I want to try and raise some money to be a bit less worried about it. I attended the Brighton gig and bought one Jubilee Street record. I purchased it intending to keep it for myself, and it’s very precious to me, but my cat means more. I’m not a reseller and this is the only record I own. It’s still unopened. That said, I don’t want to just put it on eBay and sell it for £100, I’d rather find someone willing to pay a bit more knowing it’s going towards his vet care so I thought I’d put this offer out here in case there are any fans who’d like a record but also love cats. I live in the UK and my identity is public on Reddit, and I can also personally prove I’m not a scammer via video call, showing ID etc. I could also personally deliver the record if it’s somewhere around West Yorkshire.

Now about the cat, I know people could ask why I don’t have insurance, or how I’m going to afford his future treatment. Insurance isn’t really an option for him since he had so many health issues when I found him, most insurers won’t cover pre-existing conditions, and pretty much everything wrong with him counts as one. I didn’t buy or intentionally adopt him. I found Gavroche lethargic in my garden on the 1st of April. I don’t know where he came from, I immediately thought he was someone’s lost cat. I took him to the vet, who scanned him for a microchip and found nothing. He also wasn’t neutered. He had cat flu and was struggling to breathe, his teeth were broken and several were missing, his eyes, nose and ears were weeping with pus, and his stomach was hard and round from malnutrition. His pelvis was also broken and had healed wonky, same as one of his front paws. The vet said he was at death’s door.

Since then he’s had a course of antibiotics, his flu is gone, he’s had all the testing for cat infections, his eyes have healed with eye drops, and his ears are still in the process of getting better. He’s been neutered, had his teeth fixed, had his vaccinations, and been microchipped. He’s doing so much better now, a happy, extremely cuddly and snuggly boy. His fur has grown back beautifully and he’s a proper shiny house panther these days. He has also gained almost 1kg in weight. It’s been a long road, and pretty much everything so far has been funded by donations from the amazing cat community, who I could not thank enough. But now we’ve got another worry, which hopefully is nothing too serious. He has a lump on his belly which feels like it could be a hernia from his old pelvic fracture, but it could be something more serious and life threatening, so he needs to have it scanned.

He’s not in any discomfort, he lets me touch it, and the lump is soft and hasn’t grown since I got him, his blood panel also doesn’t show any signs of organ failure so we are trying to stay positive. The vet thinks they might be able to do the scan without sedating him since he’s such a good boy, but if that doesn’t work the price jumps five times, and at the moment I don’t have that kind of money, hence trying to raise it by auctioning the record. Please let me know if anyone would be interested in purchasing it.

I understand they usually go for around £100-150 online, but I’m hoping for a bit more since I’m not doing this as a business but to help this sweet boy.

Thank you for reading and Best Wishes,
Giedre and Gavroche 🖤

Hello everyone, so as I mentioned in my previous post, Gavroche’s scan got cancelled today due to staff sickness, so we made our way to the clinic this morning for no reason. It wasn’t the clinic’s fault for not letting us know earlier, as we were the first appointment when the clinic opened, and obviously someone getting sick isn’t something they can control. We hope our vet recovers speedily 🖤.

I’ve managed to get my work shifts swapped and got the appointment moved to this coming Thursday, so not a long wait at least. I’m praying they won’t have to do the full sedation scan and I’ll only have to pay £100 for it. When we arrived, they gave me a form to fill in and it said £430 on it, which made my heart drop a bit, because the receptionist wasn’t aware of what the vet who suggested the scan had told me. To make it more complicated, the vet who suggested it is the one who did his teeth, not the one who’s actually going to do the scan, so it’s a bit of a palaver of communication. I guess I’ll only find out when I speak to the scanning vet on Thursday, if she’s even willing to try. I really hope the info has been passed on between the two of them.

I have to admit, I’m a bit scared about the bill, and it’s not easy for me to ask this, but if anyone’s able to donate, donations are open. If it turns out the scan only costs £100, I’m happy to refund everyone back, or use the money towards any other vet bills or medication instead if you’re okay with that.

I’m also trying to auction the limited edition Nick Cave record if anyone’s interested, I’ve shared a separate post for that too, so please have a look ☺️

Fingers crossed for Thursday, I hope we’ll all feel relieved once it’s done! It’s also my first wedding anniversary on Friday and I can’t believe how fast the time’s flown. I’ve attached a little picture from my special day for you to see! And I wish I could do it all again and again (with the same man, obviously, lol).

Hope you’re all doing well, and thank you for being with us 🖤

PayPal - morganafata8@gmail.com
GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/460af0d6c

Hello friends!
We made our trip to the clinic this morning but unfortunately our vet called in sick and the scan got cancelled. Gavroche has enjoyed his little trip out and we are just waiting for a phone call to see when can we re book 🖤.
Thank you all of the good luck wishes on my previous post!

Hello friends! Hope everyone is having a nice Sunday. Gavroche is doing really well and has no post-operative issues with his teeth. He still wants to scratch his ears every now and then, they don’t smell but it seems like that yeast infection is still there. We’re going to the vets for his post-dental check up and the scan of his mysterious belly lump, so they’ll get his ears looked at again too. He previously had 2 weeks of eardrops but it seems they didn’t fully resolve the issue.

Now that his mouth isn’t in pain anymore, he’s more keen on grooming himself, washing his feet and face. I don’t have to brush him or wet wipe the litter off his bum anymore, he’s comfortable doing it himself. He even tries to groom me and wash my face and hands. It’s very cute.
I’m really looking forward to finding out what his lump is about. My guess is it’s a hernia, caused by his previous pelvic fracture. A lot of symptoms align with this diagnosis. It’s soft, not painful, gets bigger after he’s eaten and disappears inside when he lies on his side. He also does this thing where sometimes he’ll want to go for a poop but changes his mind right before stepping into the litter, and does a little cry before he actually goes. Like he’s avoiding it because it’s uncomfortable. That can also be a sign of hernia, because if the abdominal muscles are torn it could take more effort and cause more discomfort for him to pass stool. I really hope I’m right and that we can manage it conservatively without any huge interventions, and that he doesn’t get handed any life threatening diagnoses. I’ve circled the mysterious lump in one of the pictures so you can see it.

As for the scan, the vet is confident that a 30 minute scan without sedation will be enough, since he’s such a good boy and shouldn’t need to be sedated. That will only cost around £90. I’ve still been asked not to feed him beforehand though, in case he needs a full abdominal scan with sedation, which would bump the price up to around £500. I really hope the smaller scan will be enough. The only thing that worries me a bit is that the vet who suggested the scan isn’t the one actually performing it, so I hope she’ll also be okay with just a short, localised scan for him.
I’ve also started applying “Stomodine” gel to his teeth and gums to keep his remaining teeth healthy and get rid of the gingivitis. He doesn’t mind it and I try to do it twice a day. Hoping it helps him avoid any future dental procedures!

Vets and scan are booked for Tuesday morning, so wish us luck, I’ll keep you all updated! 🖤

Little Gavroche is absolutely obsessed with watching reels on the phone. I even want to find my old ipad with broken screen so he can watch stuff when I am not there. I am sure he can easily figure out how to scroll through tiktok or instagram.
He also loves watching things on laptop, especially Ally McBeal, Come dine with me and Four in a Bed. What are your cat’s favourite shows? Do you have any watch recommendations for Gavroche?
Oh, he also got to keep one of his fangs. I will drop a picture in a comments ☺️
Have a good weekend everyone! 🖤