It’s a popular notion that cats have nine lives, but one lucky kitty in Oxford has a whole group of guardian angels watching out for him.
It all started around 8:15 a.m. Thursday, June 1 when Polly Hewitt and Lenora Udocon were on their way to work at the North Oakland Dental Group on S. Lapeer Road in Oxford.
While traveling north on M-24, they spotted a cat, injured but still alive, laying on the left side of the road along the median. The kitty was across from the Penzoil Ten Minute Oil Change.
Hewitt explained that neither she nor Udocon had the means available to pick up the feline and help it themselves. So once they got to the office, Hewitt called around desperately trying to find someone to rescue the cat in need.
‘We couldn’t handle thinking of that cat laying there and suffering until it died,? Hewitt said. ‘It was tearing the office up.?
Then fate and the phone company put Hewitt in contact with Kelli Coulter, a veterinary assistant for five years at the Oxford Veterinary Hospital on Lincoln Street.
Coulter called the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department and got two cars dispatched to the scene to block traffic while she personally rescued the kitty.
‘The minute we found out he was still alive, we went right out there,? Coulter said. ‘We’re not just going to let an animal sit on the side of the road that’s still alive.?
Her description of the scene when she got there was not a pretty picture. ‘As I drove up on him, you could see his head moving back and forth, which just breaks your heart,? Coulter said. ‘When I approached him, he started crawling away with his front legs because he couldn’t move his rear legs.?
‘I just threw a blanket over him and scooped him up,? she said. ‘The police helped me put him in the carrier and we brought him back here.?
Back at the veterinary hospital, medical personnel treated the kitty’s fractured jaw and fractured pelvis. They also neutered him.
‘We’re doing everything we can do for him,? Coulter said. ‘We call him Oxford.?
It appears the cat was hit by a vehicle sometime between 8 and 8:15 a.m. that day.
Coulter went through that same stretch of M-24 around 8 a.m. ‘I passed right by there,? he said. ‘I did not see him.?
The cat, described as a one-to-two-year-old domestic short hair with tri-color tiger-like markings, is doing well at the moment, according to Dr. Stephen Steep, owner of the Oxford Veterinary Hospital.
‘Everyday he gets stronger,? the doctor said. ‘He’s stronger today than he was yesterday.?
Although Hewitt offered to pay all the cat’s medical bills, Oxford Veterinary Hospital decided to cover the entire cost, which so far has amounted to an estimated $500.
The cat had no collar, identification tags or microchip, so the veterinary hospital has nothing on which to base its search for the owner, if indeed there is one.
‘We always try to get animals back to their homes,? Dr. Steep said.
If no owner can be found, the animal will be adopted. ‘Proably one of us will end up taking him,? Coulter said with a chuckle.
Hewitt was grateful to both the folks at the veterinary hospital and sheriff’s department for helping this poor little kitty.
‘That’s what makes living in a small town so nice,? she said. ‘People just care about each other.?
If anyone has any information about the kitty please call Oxford Veterinary Hospital at (248) 628-3092.
Back at the veterinary hospital, medical personnel treated the kitty’s fractured jaw and fractured pelvis. They also neutered him.
‘We’re doing everything we can do for him,? Coulter said. ‘We call him Oxford.?
It appears the cat was hit by a vehicle sometime between 8 and 8:15 a.m. that day.
Coulter went through that same stretch of M-24 around 8 a.m. ‘I passed right by there,? he said. ‘I did not see him.?
The cat, described as a one-to-two-year-old domestic short hair with tri-color tiger-like markings, is doing well at the moment, according to Dr. Stephen Steep, owner of the Oxford Veterinary Hospital.
‘Everyday he gets stronger,? the doctor said. ‘He’s stronger today than he was yesterday.?
Although Hewitt offered to pay all the cat’s medical bills, Oxford Veterinary Hospital decided to cover the entire cost, which so far has amounted to an estimated $500.
The cat had no collar, identification tags or microchip, so the veterinary hospital has nothing on which to base its search for the owner, if indeed there is one.
‘We always try to get animals back to their homes,? Dr. Steep said.
If no owner can be found, the animal will be adopted.
‘Proably one of us will end up taking him,? Coulter said with a chuckle.
Hewitt was grateful to both the folks at the veterinary hospital and sheriff’s department for helping this poor little kitty.
‘That’s what makes living in a small town so nice,? she said. ‘People just care about each other.?
If anyone has any information about the mystery kitty or is interested in adopted him please call Oxford Veterinary Hospital at (248) 628-3092.
‘Hopefully, we can find him a good home,? Coulter said.