.png)
Brummell and Rowan (who uses they/them pronouns) are best buddies and love going through life together. The two have lived together since 2018. Brummell is a sweet, playful 7 year old trickster, who brings so much joy to Rowan’s life. They call Brummell their “little serotonin machine.”
“Sometimes I don't even realize I'm stressed out until he comes and sits on my lap, and then suddenly it's better.”
Brummell is quite a trickster too, who loves to steal and hide shiny things, like Rowan’s jewelry. He crawls all over Rowan while they’re trying to do homework in the afternoon, but it’s hard to be upset with such a cute study buddy.
“I live in a studio by myself, so it makes a huge difference in my day-to-day life that I get to come home to somebody who missed me (and is so talkative about it).”
One day, during the holiday season, Rowan began to notice that Brummell was squinting and having some discharge from his eye. They didn’t know what was wrong, but Brummell’s eye started to get worse and worse. Soon, the sweet kitty wasn’t eating much and was very lethargic. He didn’t want to play, and was losing weight too. Rowan was so worried about their best friend.
“I was afraid every day when I got home from work that I would find he had passed away while I was gone.”
Their regular veterinarian prescribed some pain medication and antibiotic drops for Brummell, which helped Brummell feel a little better, but his eye wasn’t improving. Rowan knew that Brummell needed more help, but the cost of further diagnostics and potential surgery wasn’t accessible for them at their usual vet.
Thankfully, Rowan found Mission Animal Hospital where we were able to make Brummell’s care accessible. Mission’s veterinary team examined Brummell’s eye and determined that surgery to remove the eye was the best course of action.
“Mission was very compassionate and caring for both me and Brummell. They explained my options well and were very flexible with the payment plan we needed,” Rowan told us.
After surgery, Mission’s accessible care made it possible to have Brummell’s eye biopsied to further investigate the cause of his symptoms. This biopsy found that Brummell had contracted a fungal disease, unusual in cats, called blastomycosis.
Blastomycosisis a fungal infection caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis, commonly found in soil and decaying wood. Cats typically contract it through inhalation of fungal spores. Symptoms can include coughing, difficulty breathing, fever, and skin lesions, requiring prompt veterinary treatment to manage and potentially cure the infection. In Brummell’s case, it appeared that the fungal infection had infected the eye instead of the lungs.
Brummell underwent ongoing treatment for the fungal infection, and is now back to his playful self.
“Sometimes in the week after his procedure, he would wake me up in the middle of the night, even when he didn't need anything, just to purr and snuggle with me.”
Rowan couldn’t be more grateful to have their best friend at their side.
“Mission saved his life and I will always have incredible gratitude to Mission Animal Hospital for saving my little monster sidekick.”
