This is the story of Link.
Link was not able to eat on his own and was much smaller than other kitties that were the same age as he was. His rescuers were determined to change all of that for this very special cat.
“Link is unable to swallow food on his own and can’t pass anything larger than a grain of rice into his stomach. I syringe feed him upright 4 times day,” said the foster mom via imgur.
“Link’s condition is called Persistent Right Aortic Arch (PRAA). He has an extra blood vessel constricting his esophagus which makes it impossible for him to pass anything but liquid through it.”
Link had to be held a certain way when being fed so that gravity could help get his food down.
“He was emaciated and weak when we got him from not being able to eat.”
Little bu little he got bigger and happier at his foster home but was still under sized.
Because of his condition, Link was constantly looking to eat. It put him at high risk for conditions like starvation and aspiration pneumonia.
“It takes about 15 minutes to give him one feeding, and another 5-10 minutes of holding him up after to make sure all the food made it into his stomach.”
Money was raised to get him corrective surgery so he could eat on his own.
After the surgery, Link curled right up for a nap.
When he returned to his foster home following the surgery, Link snuggled with his foster mom during recovery.
2 months after the surgery, Link could eat his pureed canned food out of a bowl.
Seeing improvement every day, and he is fat and happy!
Miracles happen every day.
