Hi, my name is Chuck although my owners call me Chuckie. I am a six-year-old Maine Coon.

In September 2016 I was diagnosed with acute renal failure (my kidneys had stopped working). My owners had noticed that I was losing weight and drinking a lot so they took me to a local vet where they were told there was no hope for me and I was to be put to sleep.

Fortunately, my owners decided to gain a second opinion. This is where Carolyn and the amazing team at Melbourne Cat Vets came in. At their suggestion, my time on death row was delayed as I underwent further tests. These tests showed that I had a blockage in my left kidney and my right kidney was not doing so well either.

I was referred to a specialist surgeon, Dr. Arthur House, who said he could operate and possibly make me better. My owners immediately canceled my original appointment where I was to be put to sleep and gave the go-ahead to Dr. House to proceed. Unfortunately, my first operation was not successful and within a couple of days I had to go back under the knife a second time. This time the op was successful. After a week’s recovery, I had a third minor procedure to insert a feeding tube into my neck.

Prior to all this drama I weighed a healthy 9.4kg. Immediately after all the surgery, I weighed a mere 6.7kg. I was quite skinny. However, thanks to the care, guidance, and advice I received post-surgery from Melbourne Cat Vets and of course my owners, I have put weight back on and now weigh 7.5kg. This seems to be my stable weight now and all indicators are looking good.

My kidneys are still not fantastic but they’re a whole lot better than they were. I have gone from stage 4 of kidney failure to stage 2. Carolyn tells me that stage 2 is manageable and some cats can live a long time with kidneys that don’t function as they should as long as things are proactively monitored.

I guess I am a success story. I am so thankful that I am a cat and have 9 lives. I dare say I have used up a number of them! I am happy and well. I am pampered by my owners and I am feeling fantastic! However, just between you and me (don’t tell my owners), I crave attention and all this hospitalisation and surgery was part of a cunning plan. The amount of attention, pats, and hugs I receive has made all the pain and suffering worth it!!

I am so grateful to Melbourne Cat Vets for their continued care and dedication and along with my owners love them to bits!!

Here I am enjoying the sun with my feeding tube in, with patches of my majestic fluffiness shaved off from the operation!