{"id":63773,"date":"2026-03-16T17:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=63773"},"modified":"2026-03-15T19:51:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T23:51:23","slug":"this-cat-survived-many-others-didnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/03\/16\/this-cat-survived-many-others-didnt\/","title":{"rendered":"This cat survived. Many others didn\u2019t."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Maria Consuelo Barrero<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" data-dominant-color=\"73655a\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #73655a;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"242\" height=\"306\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-15T194724.322.webp?resize=242%2C306&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-63774 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-15T194724.322.webp?w=242&amp;ssl=1 242w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-15T194724.322.webp?resize=237%2C300&amp;ssl=1 237w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A rescue partner recently responded to a case involving multiple cats surrendered to Polk County Animal Control in Polk County, Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only a small number made it out alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the survivors almost didn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the rescue arrived to pick him up, he had already been in the shelter\u2019s care for more than 10 days. After becoming frightened and biting someone, he had to remain in quarantine \u2014 even though he had been an indoor cat and previously vaccinated for rabies. The rescue had to leave without him and hope he would still be there once the quarantine period ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another heartbreaking part of this case involved a cat reported to have Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH) \u2014 a neurological condition that affects balance but does not cause pain and is not contagious. According to those involved in the case, that cat was euthanized before reaching the shelter, reportedly after being mistaken for having a seizure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-9-16 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"This cat survived. Many others didn\u2019t\" width=\"563\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AiBSIGXyt4E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cats with CH can live happy, full lives with proper care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Situations like this remind us how vulnerable animals can be when systems are overwhelmed and resources are limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is why communities need stronger animal welfare programs and life-saving ordinances, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Accessible spay\/neuter programs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Rescue partnerships<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Microchip registration and accountability<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Public education<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Policies that prioritize humane, life-saving outcomes whenever possible<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Animals in crisis deserve compassion, resources, and protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"16\" width=\"16\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc3e\" src=\"https:\/\/static.xx.fbcdn.net\/images\/emoji.php\/v9\/tde\/1\/16\/1f43e.png\"> Their lives depend on it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Maria Consuelo Barrero A rescue partner recently responded to a case involving multiple cats surrendered to Polk County Animal Control in Polk County, Florida. Only a small number made&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"12","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDNcL1NjcmVlbnNob3QtMjAyNi0wMy0xNVQxOTQ3MjQuMzIyLndlYnA_Zml0PTI0MiUyQzMwNiZzc2w9MSIsInR4dCI6IlRoaXMgY2F0IHN1cnZpdmVkLiBNYW55IG90aGVycyBkaWRuXHUyMDE5dC4iLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImhpZ2h3YXkiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.09Pz03UXdsfaHHskX2ZloIUMi7S4E3PLmYo-CgRNcnAMQ"},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[12,14],"tags":[14082],"class_list":["post-63773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-news","tag-this-cat-survived-many-others-didnt"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63773"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63775,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63773\/revisions\/63775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}