Feral Barn Cat With Severe Wounds Nursed Back to Health – Barak’s Story

We are highlighting stories from Spring Farm Cares in June for 'Adpot a Shelter Cat Month.'

Barak was a feral barn cat when he arrived at Spring Farm Cares. He had a severe wound to his neck and puncture wounds around his body. No one is sure what attacked the cat. After he was brought to Spring Farm, their animal communication specialist, Dawn, spent time with him. Spring Farm Cares picks up the story from there:

An immediate decision had to be made whether to euthanize him or to try to treat him. Dawn was called in to see what Barak wanted to do, and two vets began to try to at least examine the extent of his injuries. He was first sedated, and then they began clipping around his wounds so that they could determine how bad he was injured. It was bad. Not only was the wound to his neck severe, but he had many others all over his body and infection and necrotic tissue was already setting in. But even with all of that, Barak told Dawn that he wanted to give it a try and he wasn't ready to end his life just yet. We knew it would be a long haul if he were to recover and we would need his full cooperation to treat him. He signed on so we did too.

The veterinarians cleaned him up as best they could. He was put on antibiotics and pain meds, and he was also put on a 6 month rabies watch, as we did not know what had attacked him. The rabies watch added an additional level of concern. He would have to live in isolation with only our senior staff members handling him. Again, we went to Barak, and again he still wanted to try. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.

Barak did not want to be handled. But his neck wound needed to be treated and examined daily. The vets thought that he would require plastic surgery to eventually close the wound. But first we needed to see if we could stop the infection. Our staff treated him by using a long flexible "wand" with a gauze pad taped to the end. Barak would let them do that and amazingly it worked. But a few days into treatment, it was clear that things were not looking good. We changed course and began treating his wounds with a homeopathic regimen. The effect was almost immediate. Daily we could see the wound changing from dead tissue to new living tissue. And soon, right before our eyes, the wound began to close. When the veterinarians examined him 2 weeks later, they could not believe their eyes. The remarkable healing journey of Barak was well on its way. The photos tell it all.

Six months later, a healthy and gorgeous Barak, was taken off of rabies watch and integrated into our feral cat room. He spent the first couple of weeks hiding but today he is starting to come out and move about the room. We have seen him lounging on the top of a cat tree, and spending time with his new cat companions. He clearly is happy and content and very happy that he made the decision to stay. We are amazed and honored to have helped him. To many, he was just a feral cat that should have been euthanized. But to the veterinarians who wanted to give it a go, to our staff who dedicated so much time to treating him, and to all of us here at the farm, he is a wonder and a precious being, as deserving as any other being for a chance to live his life.