They call her the miracle cat…now. Yet miracles don’t just happen in an instant. Rue’s incredible survival required a series of interventions, initiated by Home for Life® Animal Sanctuary. Our willingness to step up for Rue in the face of several unknowns—the severity of her injuries, the potential cost to help her, and even if she could recover ever—and our commitment to her long-term welfare created the possibility of a future for this small, battered cat.
Thrown from a 12th Story Balcony
Monday overwhelm is a familiar feeling at the beginning of a work week, even at a place like Home for Life,® where the work is 24/7. But emergencies never pick a convenient time to show up. On the last Monday in June, first thing in the morning, Minneapolis Animal Care and Control (MACC) sent out an email alert to all of their rescue partners:
EMAIL ALERT: “A373539 “Rue” is an ~1 year old, female DSH that was brought to MACC today after being reported as injured. A juvenile at the scene shared that multiple persons witnessed the cat falling from a 12th floor balcony and suspect that she was thrown.
Rue has an obvious right front limb injury—either fractured or luxated at the carpus. It also appears that she has a mandibular fracture and/or luxation as she is unable to close her mouth and has a malocclusion that we are assuming wasn’t present prior. There is a concern for additional injuries due to the height from which she fell, such as ruptured organs.
Rue has a deadline of 4:30 pm TODAY (June 24th) because she is unable to eat or drink on her own, is in pain, and needs additional care that cannot be provided here at MACC. If she is not tagged, she will be humanely euthanized.”
Minneapolis Animal Control alerted their followers on Facebook that “This cat got a last-minute angel and will be leaving the shelter shortly to go to an emergency clinic!” That angel was Home for Life.®
Since Rue was only a year old, we thought there was a good chance several rescue organizations would want to “tag” her. We continued to monitor the case throughout the busy Monday, but by 3:30 pm there were still no offers to take her. We nervously watched the clock and waited until finally, at 4 pm, with only 30 minutes before her deadline, we realized nobody was going to help her. We quickly phoned MACC, then sent a transport to bring Rue immediately to an emergency clinic for the critical care she needed. We couldn’t bear the idea that this little cat should suffer such violence and then just be left to quietly die. There should always be someone in the world who is willing to step up and offer care!
Critical Care
There was no way to be sure of how much we had taken on when we accepted Rue. There was always the chance that the impact of her fall had damaged her internal organs beyond repair. We would have to have her injuries assessed immediately, and even that diagnosis would be costly.
X-rays and ultrasounds revealed that both the radius and ulna of Rue’s right front leg were broken, along with a toe on her left front paw. At the emergency veterinarian’s office these bones were all set to help stabilize them and reduce pain and further trauma. Thankfully, none of the internal organs had ruptured! The vets did find some blood in her urine, and her bloodwork showed some changes consistent with the extremely traumatic injury.
Rue’s most critical injury was the broken mandible joint on both sides of her jaw—the TMJ. This serious fracture probably occurred when she landed from the fall and banged her head on the pavement with force. Several of her teeth had been broken, as well. We arranged for further consultation with a veterinary surgeon on that Thursday—three days post injury. While she waited, Rue was stable and on three different pain medications as well as a liquid diet through a nasal gastric tube since she could neither open nor close her mouth.
How quick and easy is it to hurt and destroy, and how difficult it is to repair and to heal! We thought about Rue as a kitten and how lovingly her mother cat took care of her. To have her life nearly destroyed so easily and casually was difficult to reconcile. This cat, just barely a year old, was once a trusting, innocent kitten. What a betrayal and complete disregard for the value of life.
What is the remedy for such disregard? The most powerful thing we can do—to care! To take that first step to help with faith that her life was worth saving, despite all the questions, not knowing what would be required to knit her life back together. That was the commitment we made when we took Rue from MACC. There is no such thing as an unwanted animal for people who care.
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Rue at the vet (left) and resting after receiving life sustaining care (above). This little girl is a fighter! And it’s the fighting spirit she needed while healing from her trauma. In spite of severe injuries to her jaw, she was eating on her own within a few days (along with nutrition supplemented through a feeding tube). She had casts on both front legs but she still tried to wash her face and even to walk! |
The #UniversalCatDistributionSystem Brings Rue to Home for Life® where a miraculous treatment occurs
At last, it was time for Rue to see the surgeon. To our surprise, the specialists who examined her did not think she needed surgery. Yes, her jaw was broken, but it was not shattered. They explained that the extensive musculature of her face was essentially holding her jaw in place. They considered external fixators but then thought of an even more brilliant plan: working with a human dentist, they could bond Rue’s upper and lower canine teeth on both sides of her jaw, stabilizing her jaw so it could heal. Her mouth would be open enough to permit her to eat and drink, but the bonds would stay in place for at least six weeks while the jaw mended.
On D-day, a veterinary team borrowed the bonding equipment from the human dental office. That was a genius strategy and another miracle, which we didn’t anticipate, but the benefits of the minimal trauma the procedure would involve were obvious—Rue had already been through so much. Though full body x-rays revealed no damage to the internal organs or skeleton, she was still very sore, even with the medication. We were grateful for the compassion and outside-the-box thinking of her skilled surgeons.
What a week for Rue! It started so horribly, with rejection, cruelty, and painful traumatic injuries from a 12-story fall. But in the end, as any cat will, she landed on her feet—she landed at Home for Life,® the one place where she could be assured of finding the help she needed. What a week for Home for Life! The chaos and overwhelm of that Monday morning developed into form and purpose through our efforts to help this little cat. Indeed, our sanctuary exists to be there for dogs and cats like Rue. The universal cat distribution system had made a good match!
Plot Twist
It took nearly a week to ensure Rue had stabilized and begun the healing process. Once we knew she would survive, we did a press release to tell the world about what had happened and the aftermath. We didn’t expect much especially when we learned the police had closed the case and that no charges would be brought for the cruel treatment Rue suffered. To our surprise, the media responded to the injustice involving Rue’s treatment and her story appeared in many local and national outlets, and even reached caring people in Australia, Great Britain, and all over Europe. (See the extensive media coverage here: https://www.homeforlife.org/cat-thrown-12-story-building). An animal rights group, In Defense of Animals, now aware of Rue’s case because of the publicity, put up a reward for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who hurt her.
While the widespread concern for Rue was uplifting, it was also sobering to realize that it easily could have ended so differently. In those hours before her pending euthanasia—as she waited injured and alone in a cage at animal control—had we not rushed to get her, and had the vets, the emergency team, and the skilled surgical specialists not tried so hard to help her, this little cat would have quietly died. If we had not let the world know about her plight and the cruelty that befell her, it would have been shrugged off, with no one the wiser.
It is always worthwhile to care. The impulse to make a difference and resolve difficulties is contagious. We create the world we want to live in by the actions we take. Home for Life® took that first step to help Rue, and now caring people around the world knew her story and were moved to help her.
Radical Resilience
Rue has continued to improve. She is now out of the casts, and was overjoyed to have the bonding removed from her teeth. She can open and close her mouth now and use her paws to wash her face. Her right leg is slightly deformed, and she has a small limp, but she is finally able to walk around. After being immobilized for several weeks, her facial muscles are stiff, but they are starting to loosen up with use. She will need to see a dentist eventually to address the broken teeth.
She will have a good 6-8 more weeks of healing before we can get a full picture of what the final outcome will be for her. However, her progress has been nothing short of miraculous, at every step and through every effort and intervention.
The world is unpredictable and often cruel. When animals suffer mistreatment, it is natural for people to feel outrage or despair and helplessness. But the only things we absolutely can control are our responses, our actions. Wherever we put our focus, our energies and actions will follow, and our actions help create the shape of the world and the types of people we will be in that world. In this way, all the people who rallied to help Rue have become more caring and loving people. And through their care, effort, and donations they have made the world a more caring and loving place for all animals.
her recovery.
Rue’s story is dramatic but sadly not unique. Home for Life® sanctuary is populated by animals who have suffered many kinds of cruelty: outright abuse, casual neglect, repeated rejection, years of lonely confinement, and indifference. All these animals were able to finally find healing and a new life at our sanctuary.
Thanks to your support, we were able to respond to save Rue’s life and then restore her health and happiness, and most importantly put a stake in the ground for compassion and kindness, instead of turning away and leaving her to die alone and injured. Please help us with your most generous donation as we enter a new year, so we can help the next dog or cat who is also in critical need of the help they may find nowhere else but Home for Life.®
With gratitude,
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