Earless Cat Gets New Lease on Life

Nine-year-old Carmen was first spotted by one of Cat Town’s adopters, Angela, who saw her trying to cross a busy Oakland, CA street in traffic, oblivious to the honking horns. Once she got the cat safely inside, she saw the fungus growing in Carmen’s ears. Carmen had tumors growing inside her ear canals and outside on her ears.

A vet said the condition was likely untreated for years, resulting in deafness and discomfort. They made the difficult decision to perform ear ablation surgery — the removal of both of her ears and ear canals.

“Even though we understood it was in Carmen’s best interest to go ahead with the ear ablation surgery, it was really hard to see her right after. She experienced extreme vertigo, irregular eye movements and could barely move without falling over,” according to Cat Town, the organization who has headed up Carmen’s rescue.

She won’t be the centerfold of Cat Fancy anytime soon, but her quality of life will be immensely improved once she has healed fully.

Cat Town targets cats the least likely to be adopted from Oakland’s municipal shelter (whch is an awful, awful place for a cat to be). Through their foster-based program, Cat Town helps sensitive cats blossom and find furever homes. Cat Town is also devoted to helping feral cats leave the shelter and find safe outdoor homes.

Cat Town is an independent, non-profit organization that operates through a partnership with Oakland Animal Services, resulting in increased adoption and reduced euthanasia of at-risk cats and greater awareness about the needs of these vulnerable animals.

Like many cat rescues, Cat Town struggles to cover their ever-increasing vet bills and cost of supplies. Please consider making a donation to Cat Town; even a tiny one will help.  (Carmen's Donation Page)