Maci Raney was out doing errands when she heard something unusual in the parking lot of a local Tractor Supply store.
She was startled by a soft meow and turned around just in time to see a tabby kitten hiding behind some bushes. She approached the kitten since she could not see the mother cat anywhere in the vicinity.
In a video shared on TikTok, Raney can be heard saying, “I called her, and she immediately ran to me.” “I don’t know if that was just the universe telling her that I was there to rescue her.”
Raney snatched the cat up in her arms and carried her to the protection of her vehicle. The moment she took it in her hands, the cat instantly started purring and making biscuits. “She was covered in fleas, eyes matted, dirt all in her hair, and we suspected tapeworms, which was later confirmed,” Raney told The Dodo. “We suspected tapeworms because she was covered in fleas, eyes matted, and dirt all in her hair.”
Raney was able to begin treating the cat’s ear and eye infections before she was due to see the veterinarian because she hurriedly brought the kitten, who she subsequently decided to name Biscuit, home and immediately gave her a flea wash.
Biscuit was also able to meet her complete new family, which consisted of two dogs, two cats, chickens, and ducks, and she appeared to have no trouble adjusting to her new surroundings once she did so.
Raney went back to Tractor Supply the next day to check once more and make sure that she hadn’t overlooked any of Biscuit’s other siblings. In a another video, Raney can be heard saying, “That’s where she was, over there.” “I looked all the way up and down the tree line, I called for mama, I called for kittens, I looked… there were no kittens in any way,” she said.
After a second flea bath and a few eye ointment treatments, Biscuit was looking like a completely different kitten on her second day with Raney.
Raney said in a subsequent video, “She’s so playful, she’s so sweet,” referring to the baby.
On the other hand, Raney received some disheartening information on the day of Biscuit’s checkup with the veterinarian: the kitten tested positive for feline leukemia (FeLV).
The feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a deadly illness that affects the immune system of cats. It can cause anemia or cancer and is transmittable to other cats through saliva. One of the primary vaccinations that brand-new kittens get at their first visit to the veterinarian is the FeLV vaccine.
Raney had no choice but to isolate Biscuit from the rest of her cats, despite the fact that the other cats had been immunized against the sickness, and find out how to provide Biscuit the most effective therapy possible.
Raney continued by saying, “I had planned on keeping her, but us living in a camper and me having three other cats, that’s just not going to be possible, and I want to give her the best life she possibly can have,” and she asked her followers for recommendations on rescue organizations that take FeLV-positive kittens in need of a new home.
The veterinarian gave us some unfortunate information regarding our little biscuit. Please get in touch with me if you know of any resources pertaining to FeLV rescues in North East Texas or the surrounding area.
However, Raney found out that it’s occasionally possible to obtain a false-positive FeLV test result after doing some research and collecting advise from others who have been in her shoes. This is particularly true when it’s a very young kitten that is being tested, as this increases the likelihood of a false-positive result.
Because Biscuit was only about 3 or 4 weeks old, the positive test result could have come from her mother’s antibodies that were still in Biscuit’s system.
And… yes, precisely that is what it was. The results of Biscuit’s PCR blood test came back negative for FeLV, which means that she is now free to spend the rest of her life with Raney’s family, which is where she will be happiest.
Raney said that Biscuit has quickly adjusted to her new life and is delighted to be a farm cat. She seems to have no trouble fitting in at all.
“She loves to go outside and ‘help’ me with all of the chicken chores,” Raney added. “It’s her favorite thing to do.” “She enjoys playing in the chicken coop with the rabbits as much as she does the chickens.”
Raney said, “[and] she also loves to go on car rides with us when we ride around on the country roads.” “Her best friend is her big sister Lola (she’s a 3-year-old shorthair cat),” she said, “[and] she also loves to go on car rides with us.”
“But her favorite thing is definitely being outside with all her animal brothers and sisters,” Raney said.
Raney is looking forward to seeing Biscuit develop into a healthy, happy cat who will put her whole heart and soul into creating those biscuits now that she has finally been given the all-clear to eat Biscuit.