A Stray Cat Was Too Weak to Make a Sound. The People Who Found Him Brought Him Home.

The white cat was still trying to crawl when someone spotted him on the road. He could barely move, but when the people who stopped came closer, he tried to pull away. They stayed and got him to an animal hospital.

Three days later, one of those people came back to visit. The cat, who would come to be called Ruan Ruan, was spending most of his time asleep. 

From the looks of things, it might have seemed like little had changed since the last visit, but the veterinarian had news about what had happened overnight.

The first three days at the hospital

In the rescue account shared by Paws Nook, one of the rescuers remembered that Ruan Ruan was “too weak to make a sound.” He’d still been trying to move along the road when the rescuers reached him. He could barely move, the rescuer recalled, “so we rushed him to a nearby hospital.”

At the hospital, the rescuers wrapped Ruan Ruan in a blanket. The veterinary team gave him pain medication, started an IV and took X-rays. His jaw had shifted out of place, and he had an injured hind leg. The rescuers thought he might have been hit by a car.

The American Veterinary Medical Association advises, “In case of an emergency, call your veterinarian or local veterinary emergency hospital so they can be ready when you arrive.”

One of the rescuers brought their son to see him. For those first few days, the family had to wait and see how Ruan Ruan responded to care. His jaw needed surgery, but first he had to get strong enough for the veterinarian to operate.

The first few bites

When the rescuer came back on day three, Ruan Ruan was still sleeping much of the time. The veterinarian told them he’d eaten some cat food the night before. For the person who’d first seen him struggling to crawl, there was finally a change they could point to.

In its guide to feeding support, VCA Animal Hospitals discusses “jaw fractures or other mouth injuries that prevent normal or adequate eating.” For Ruan Ruan, chewing was still painful even after that first meal. His rescuers soaked his food so it would be soft enough for him to eat.

There was a change in how he moved, too. For much of his hospital stay, he’d been lying down. As his hind leg began to recover, he managed to crouch. It was a small movement, but it was more than he’d been able to do before.

A bed waiting at home

Once Ruan Ruan was strong enough, the veterinarian operated to realign his jaw. His appetite picked up after surgery, and he grew less wary when his visitors came close. By the day he was ready to leave, he’d gained weight.

At the hospital, his rescuers talked to him and he kept looking at them. They were the people who’d brought him in and kept coming back to see him. This time, they were taking him home.

The vet sent him with some of the food he was used to eating. His rescuers had food, water and a bed ready. The rest of the house, with its unfamiliar sounds and other cats, was something he’d get to know a little at a time.

He came out when he was ready

Ruan Ruan took a few slow steps out of his enclosure. He paused to listen, then went back inside. His rescuers moved his bed to the floor so he could get to it without climbing.

Best Friends Animal Society advises, “Allow your new cat the time to get used to their new home on their terms.” Ruan Ruan came out again when he was ready. One day, his rescuers brought out a wand toy. He watched it closely and turned his head as it moved.

The blue scratching board

In later footage, Ruan Ruan was jumping around the house. The white cat with two different-colored eyes was playing with the resident cats he’d once been afraid of. He’d gone from following a toy with his eyes to joining the other cats at play.

His chin had healed and the fur had grown back. When food came out, the cat who’d needed his meals softened was licking every last bit off a spoon.

The veterinary team had cared for him through surgery and recovery. The people who stopped on the road had kept visiting him and eventually brought him home.

And somewhere along the way, Ruan Ruan and the other cats had found one thing they could all agree on. Out of the scratching boards in the house, they all wanted the blue one.

Share Ruan Ruan’s story with someone who’d be glad to see where those first few bites led.

Also read:

A Tiny Kitten Cried From the Tall Grass. Someone Stopped to Listen