The fluffy Scotsman appeared in the Skalin – Strizhenkov family a little over a year ago. The owner of the donor cat, Angelina Strizhenkova, is engaged in rescuing pets from the zone of a special military operation, writes Novy Kaliningrad. At the end of 2022, she learned that the shelter "Koshkin Dom Donetsk" requires a volunteer who will travel through the destroyed cities of Donbass and look for animals that were forced to remain under shelling all alone without loving owners. This volunteer was Angelina, who regularly takes a vacation at her own expense and spends it with them in her area.
Last year, Angelina went to Donbass again, but this time with her husband, a doctor. In Mariupol, not far from Azovstal, they met a cat with unusually beautiful green eyes. Residents told her and other volunteers that a family had died in one of the apartments after being hit by a shell. Bonya was the only one alive. According to Angelina, her husband "just fell in love with Bonya's eyes and said that we would not leave without him." So it was decided to take the cat to Kaliningrad to a new "foster family". And Bonya's "fatness" has already become decisive for the decision to make him a donor.
"For the first time, we read about the fact that a cat needs blood for transfusion right after the New Year in a group of cat lovers and immediately responded," says Angelina. - We arrived at the clinic, Bonya was tested and it turned out that his blood was suitable for transfusion. They took more than ordinary cats, almost 80 ml, but our cat is well-fed, so he gave a little more blood. And for good reason. The kitty survived and got better."
Since then, Bonya began to go to clinics for feline blood transfusion regularly. The fact is that cats are allowed to donate blood once every three to four months. This summer, the Kaliningrad Mariupol citizen became an "honorary donor" for the third time. This time, the tailed Pavlik needed a donor.
"He needed surgery, he has cancer, but the blood came up. The next day, the hostess called me back that everything was fine with Pavlik. Before that, he refused to eat at all, only drank a little. And then they said that they had eaten. Even, as they said, he ate for ten at the clinic. I say, look, you can see Bonya's blood right away. Such a healthy, plump one," Angelina Strizhenkova shared.
Blood for Pavlik was taken from Boni not from the paw, but from the cervical artery. It is noteworthy that if cats have the same blood type, then it may still not be suitable. Therefore, before transfusion, veterinarians always take a cross-sample and perform a compatibility procedure. If the blood is compatible, then it can be transfused to another animal.
"Unfortunately, we do not have a blood bank for cats in Kaliningrad. At all. People ask for help in chat rooms and interest groups. But for cats, donation is really the last chance for life, transfusion is done to this animal as a last resort. And the blood bank, of course, could seriously alleviate the situation in our Kaliningrad region," Angelina continues. "Well, Bonya is so chubby, we never refuse to help."
Photos of the portal "New Kaliningrad" and from the personal archive of Angelina Strizhenkova.