Sad News For Fluffy: Cat Rescued From Abandoned Home By SFPD Has Terminal Disease

Courtesy of Jonathan Lee

An emaciated Fluffy is rushed to the veterinarian

Yesterday we wrote about Fluffy, the cat an officer at the Taraval station went the extra mile to rescue from an abandoned house. It turns out that this is not exactly an "all's well that ends well" situation. The cat was so malnourished from being locked in that house, says owner Jonathan Lee, that he was forced to take Fluffy to an emergency vet. And, once there, the feline's blood work revealed that Fluffy has terminal leukemia.

"We were encouraged to put him down," confirms Lee, 44, a wedding photographer and San Francisco native. "But after what he went through and what we went through to get him out, we didn't want to put him down."

Fluffy's misadventure began on tax day -- April 15 -- when Lee couldn't locate hide nor hair of him. Fluffy is a semi-feral cat -- he's been living in Lee's backyard for the better part of five years, and occasionally enters the kitchen. But he's social enough and drops by every evening for his dinner. 
  After five weeks of checking for Fluffy at city animal shelters, Lee last week heard the cat meowing out of a nearby abandoned house on 47th and Noriega not far from his home. He flagged down a passing police officer, Patrice Scanlan, who phoned Animal Care and Control. When ACC was unable to spare an officer right away, Lee offered to spring for a locksmith -- Metro Locksmith later decided this one was on the house  -- and he and Scanlan entered the building. With the aid of some cat food, he coaxed Fluffy out from beneath an oven.

Courtesy of Jonathan Lee

Fluffy, eating again and happy-go-lucky on Wednesday

The cat was so weak and emaciated, Lee thinks it's possible Fluffy was trapped in the house for weeks and hadn't eaten a thing. The home has stood vacant since its owner recently died, and Lee speculates that Fluffy may have slipped in when the owner's relatives were visiting some time ago.

Leukemia is a contagious disease -- and Lee has three housecats of his own. So he's keeping Fluffy isolated in the garage, which is where the cat figures to spend the rest of his days. Fluffy appears to have gained back most of the weight he lost, and the vet believes the cat could live another three years or so.

"Right now, he seems to have gotten his weight back and he seems pretty happy," said Lee. "He's a little purring machine."