Declawed Senior Found Outside Starving, Emaciated & in Pain

How does the sweetest senior boy, who wants nothing more than to be loved, end up outside in this condition? Bodhi was found outside begging for food — horribly matted, severely emaciated, declawed, and trying to survive on his own. Underneath his beautiful fur is almost nothing. Bodhi is quite literally bones and fur.

His fluffy coat hides just how devastatingly thin he truly is. There is almost no fat or muscle left on his fragile little body. His spine and hips protrude, and even his chest bone visibly sticks out. But what breaks our hearts just as much as Bodhi's physical condition is who Bodhi is.

Bodhi absolutely LOVES people. He follows us everywhere just waiting for attention. If we walk into another room, Bodhi follows. The moment someone sits down, he slowly makes his way over, climbs into their lap and curls up as close as he possibly can. He just wants to be loved.

It is painfully obvious that at some point in his life, Bodhi had a family. He knows people. He knows laps. He knows the comfort of being inside. And at some point, someone had him declawed. Yet somehow this incredibly gentle senior boy ended up outside — declawed, horribly matted and starving until there was almost nothing left of his body.

No family came forward for him. We may never know how Bodhi went from being someone's pet to begging for food outside. We only know that by the time help finally reached him, his little body desperately needed it.

Once his painful mats were removed, we could finally see what his long fur had been hiding. Bodhi isn't simply underweight. He is severely emaciated. You can see and feel nearly every bone in his tiny body. There is virtually no muscle or fat left protecting him.

We desperately wanted to give Bodhi time to eat, gain weight and rebuild some strength. Then we discovered just how painful his mouth is. Bodhi has severe dental disease with significant inflammation and infection.

Because he is so emaciated, we originally hoped to give him about a month to gain desperately needed weight before putting his fragile body through anesthesia. Unfortunately, we don't have that month anymore. Bodhi has stopped eating enough on his own. The heartbreaking part is that he wants to eat. He goes to his food. He tries. But his mouth hurts too badly.

I am now syringe feeding him just to try to keep his already skeletal little body from losing more weight. Then this week, Bodhi suddenly began limping and wouldn't put weight on his left leg. X-rays revealed significant arthritis in his knee. And knowing that Bodhi was declawed makes this especially difficult.

Declawing isn't simply removing a cat's nails. It involves amputating the last bone of each toe. It permanently changes the anatomy of the paws and can alter how a cat bears weight and walks, which may contribute to chronic pain and joint problems later in life.

Bodhi is severely emaciated. His mouth is infected and painful. He is struggling to eat. He is limping. And underneath all of it is still the sweetest little boy who follows us everywhere because all he wants is attention and a lap.

Bodhi has been through enough. He should never have been outside trying to survive in this condition. He should never have become so thin that there is almost nothing left beneath his fur. And this incredibly affectionate little boy should never have had to beg strangers for food and help.

We can't change what happened to Bodhi before he found us. But we can make sure the rest of his story is different.

Please help us get Bodhi the dental surgery he desperately needs and deserves to give his fragile little body the chance to heal.

We want to see weight covering those bones again. We want to watch him eat a full meal without pain. We want to get his arthritis comfortable. And most of all, we want this sweet senior boy to spend the rest of his life doing exactly what he loves most: Following his people around, climbing into their laps, and knowing he will never be left outside to fend for himself again.