by Connie Cronley
That sunny July day in 2009 was the worst day of the ginger kitten’s life. It was also his luckiest.
Curtis Pfaff was doing boots-on-the-ground volunteer duty in inner-city Kansas City with Chain of Hope, a nonprofit for abused and neglected animals, when he got the call.
“Some kids are doing something mean to a cat,” a man told him.
It took Pfaff and his volunteer partner 20 minutes to get there. They found the three-month-old kitten with his right rear leg cut off. “Bleeding but so brave,” Pfaff said. “Nothing bothers him. The day I found him, he was just sitting there, meowing as if to say, ‘Look at me and what the hell they did to me.’ ”
Pfaff and the other volunteer rushed the kitten to a clinic for emergency care. Then Pfaff told him, “You’re coming home with me.” In admiration of the kitten’s courage and resilience, Pfaff named him Bam Bam, for the tough toddler in The Flintstones animated sitcom.
Bam Bam’s luck that traumatic day was being rescued by Pfaff, a doting caregiver. Today, 15 years later, the two live in Tulsa, Pfaff’s hometown, with three other rescued cats: Betty, Victoria, and Penny. All are indoors cats, safe in a sunny home full of cat trees for climbing, cat ledges for bird watching, cat shelves for height, cat caves for hiding, cat beds for snuggling, cat toys for playing. The place hums with cat contentment.
Coordinating Care
A few years ago, Bam Bam began to suffer health effects from his leg loss. His spine, out of alignment, caused sudden, painful muscle spasms. Pfaff lined up a triage of veterinarians for regular care and special treatments.
Dr. Bren Milleson, Tulsa Town Veterinary Hospital, is Bam Bam’s primary vet, providing the general health-care needs of the handsome ginger cat. Alternating weeks, Bam Bam gets special treatments — chiropractic adjustments to realign his spine from Dr. Neely Shenloogian, Green Country Animal Chiropractic, and acupuncture treatments from Dr. Heather Owen, Animal Acupuncture, to relieve pain and promote well-being.
Bam Bam loves all three veterinarians. Gregarious by nature, he bounds out of his carrier in each clinic, delighted to see everyone. His joy is infectious, and the veterinarians and their staff members lavish him with affection as well as medical care. All 8.5 pounds of him is carefree and full of life.
In addition to the special medical care, Pfaff provides a special diet for Bam Bam and his other cats. In 2010, Pfaff was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an inflammation of the digestive track. He keeps the chronic disease under control without medication by maintaining a careful diet.
His in-depth dietary research taught him the link between food and health, a knowledge that he applies to his pets’ food. His cats have a diet of 98 percent protein and meat, no grain, and only wet food. He believes dry food is bad for kidneys. “No kibble whatsoever,” he said. “That’s so highly processed, it’s like eating Cheetos every day.”
Pfaff feeds his cats frozen raw food which he buys locally and freeze-dried raw food that he orders from an online store. A typical meal for Bam Bam and his feline housemates is a mixed grill of raw rabbit and turkey, served at room temperature, with a dash of sardine oil, a tablespoon of pumpkin, and a drizzle of lukewarm bone broth.
Going to the Rescue
How lucky that Bam Bam can receive such special care! How lucky that Tulsa has such veterinarian specialists! How lucky that communities have animal-rescue groups such as Kansas City’s Chain of Hope and Tulsa’s volunteer nonprofits! Without groups such as those, Bam Bam wouldn’t be alive today, and neither would Pfaff’s other cats.
Pfaff is not currently involved with a rescue group, but he has high praise for volunteers who work to give animals the lives they deserve. “Especially the people who are beating the pavement and knocking on doors,” he says. “You’ve got to go to the people and develop relationships.”
The greatest need is for spay and neuter programs, then education about care, diet, and the value of bringing pets into the home. “Too many dogs are kept chained, too many cats are living on the street. It’s not just inner-city or underprivileged people,” Pfaff said. “People in million-dollar homes don’t take care of their animals. You just can’t see that from the street.”
Rescue work is tough, he acknowledges, “It wears on your soul and beats the life out of you because the need is never ending. There are so many. Just around the corner, there’s another animal in need.”
Yet the reward is profound, Pfaff said. “No matter what conditions the animals are in, no matter what people have done to them, they just soak up the love and give it back tenfold.”
