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- Evidence -
Possum's Photos and Medical Records
Disputed statement: "...appears to be chemical burn..."
- Photographs and medical content on this site may be disturbing to some viewers. -
What really happened to Possum?
The story starts when three male cats in one room started to scratch themselves bloody. This is the same room from which I took three of five cats on 8/4/19 to Tractor Supply in an attempt to get them vaccinated for rabies in compliance with the state's order. One of them, Sargeant, almost got away from the technician and I had to grab him to get him back in his carrier. He bit me. Sunk four canines into my forearm, but I wasn't about to let go and have him be forever lost in a strange place miles from home. I've never before been bitten by a cat. Took almost a year for the scars to fade. This cat later started scratching his neck bloody. I had two previous cases like these. The first was many years ago and I took her to the veterinary, but the treatment did not work very well and she ended up with permanent scars on her neck. The second occurred just a few years ago and I decided to try wrapping him so he couldn't hurt himself. That was a lot of work, but the result was that he healed up perfectly with no scarring. So I did the same with these three cats, and they were all healing, but then Possum started having an unusual problem. It's important to know that Possum was perfectly fine except for the scratching. He wasn't acting lethargic or sick in any other way.
This is exactly what I wrote in an email to Rogers about the situation with Possum:
Last evening I took a cat, Possum, to the Lewiston Emergency Clinic. The cat had been scratching the holy hell out of himself. As I've done in the past, I wrapped him to prevent any further injury. This has worked better for me than various vet treatments, including powders, antibiotics and steroids. Once whatever cut that caused the scratching heals, they stop scratching. Possum was healing nicely, but had gotten his wrap off and was bleeding, like a very slow drip, from two scratches in his back and neck. I stopped the bleeding, but it was difficult and I was getting concerned as this was not typical. I wrapped him back up, but for whatever reason, that restarted the bleeding. Again, I stopped the bleeding, but now I can't wrap him and I'm worried he'll open up the cuts again. When I went back to check on him, he was laid out on the floor in bad shape, so I rushed him to the clinic. The vet, Andrine Belliveau, never asked me a single question, just walked into the room and stated the cat had a chemical burn, lye she thought, and that she had to report it to the ACO. Are you kidding me? You think someone, maybe me, poured lye on this cat? That's your learned diagnosis? What kind of person comes to such a conclusion? The arrogance and incompetence are beyond my comprehension. I told her she was wrong, but she insisted after thousands of cats, she knew this cat hadn't done this to himself. Except, of course, that he had. You know, Dr. Larry Buggia always listened to me. He treated me with respect, not condescension. I sorely miss him. And the real problem here is the animals are the ones who suffer. Did they treat the real problem? No. They focused on some presumed animal abuse, only gave my cat pain meds, because they concluded he had a chemical burn that was causing him intense pain. What are you doing for the bleeding and blood loss? I asked. Oh, we can't do anything until you sign the estimate. This after the cat had already been in their hands for at least 15 minutes. I expected him to get immediate fluids and stitches to close up those wounds. But he didn't. My options were to drive him to the Portland Emergency Clinic (I didn't think he'd make it) or let them do blood work (honestly, I wondered if there was any blood left for them to get at this point) so they could treat him or let them put him down (such a hypocritical recommendation). At this point, I knew it was hopeless, but I signed the papers to do the blood work. When they said it would be 45 minutes to get the results, I knew he was a dead cat, and he was, because 15 minutes later they came to get me and tell me that he died when they took him out of his carrier. I will never, ever take a real emergency to that place again.
I took pictures of the cuts, the bloody paws that made the cuts and the newly healed skin that was unaffected by this supposed chemical burn. Should I have an autopsy done too? From my point of view, the system, the policies, whatever is driving this reporting system of yours is clearly screwed up. What's the good thing you all think you are doing for my cats? Because all they've experienced is harm.
I knew the minute Belliveau walked into the room and declared Possum had a chemical burn that she was about to give the state what they needed to take my cats. The photographs will show that he continued to bleed while under this veterinarian's care. His whole chest and front legs are bloody in these photos. They were not when we left the house. His back is also all red and bloody. That was also not the case before we left the house. Belliveau described this as a hemmorhage, but at home, he had clearly been bleeding from two specific cuts. The photographs also show his back paws are bloody, proving he had been scratching himself. I also include a photo of all three cats showing all three have the same wounds and that fresh wounding occurred while in the custody of the state. Facts are facts.
Belliveau testified in court. We'll see her testimony when we get the court records. Belliveau had to review the report so she could be reminded for her testimony and she didn't remember me and no flea was in the record, but she suddenly remembered they found a single flea on Possum. If they can prove the cats have uncontrolled parasite infestations, it improves their case. During her testimony she said the animal control officer told her I was under investigation for animal cruelty. These people have no discretion. My once good reputation for taking excellent care of my animals is now ruined. Belliveau asked the animal control officer if she should keep the body for evidence or testing. I would certainly have let them do testing. I asked Rogers if I should have an autopsy done, but she never answered me. I did call the local veterinarian about doing an autopsy, but she didn't do them and recommended Tufts, which is a three hour drive and wasn't feasible at the time. I did contact several veterinarians at Tufts about looking at these photos to see if they could tell what caused these wounds, but this wasn't in their area of expertise. Is there any veterinarian out there who can look at these photos and would be willing to testify in a court that these are not chemical burns?
During court, Fiske backed up Belliveau insisting a cat could not scratch themselves in this way. The assistant district attorney even decided to mock me by asking Fiske, "Have you ever heard of a cat scratching itself to death?" Fiske thought this was funny when she replied no. The fact that there is any amusement over this situation should be very telling to anyone who is paying attention.
The following three pages are Possum's record from the emergency clinic. I'm not sure what this first page is supposed to be. Someone's confirmation that I denied the chemical burns?
Below is the intake form I filled out.
Below is the medical evaluation. This information was taken after Belliveau entered the room and declared her belief that Possum had a chemical burn and she would need to report it to animal control. Because I found the finding so shocking and wrong and knew the implications of it with regard to his prognosis and the safety of all of my cats, I recall just shaking my head in disbelief and telling her she was wrong, there was no way the cat could even accidentally get a chemical burn, nevermind intentionally. She left the room and returned, and when she returned I told her again she was wrong, but again she insisted he couldn't have done this to himself.
The first nine images below were taken by the veterinary clinic. They have shaved around the wounds and up his neck. They then washed the wounds for the last three photos. You can see the amount of blood he continued to lose on the table, soaked into his chest and leg hair, pooled in between his shoulder blades and stained all over. The cut I could not stop from bleeding was between his shoulder blades. There was a smaller cut to the side that also continued to bleed. These individual cuts were clearly visible before we left the house. He was not soaked in blood and his skin was not all stained and discolored. He lost a lot of blood on the way to the veterinary because I could not keep pressure on the cuts. You can clearly see the torn skin in the third row of photos where the blood has been washed away.
The next three images were taken by me at home before his burial.
The image below shows all three cats and how they all have the same types of scratches. These have been circled. No mention was ever made of chemical burns on Major or Sargeant. Self-harming was noted on both their medical records. Also, Sargeant was completely healed when the state took him, but you can see he is bleeding again after he was returned from the veterinary where they removed his protective wrap. The photo in the middle is of Major at the veterinary. You can see he is not bleeding anywhere and his cuts are healed, but the circled areas indicate cuts in the same place as Possum between the shoulder blades. Major was primarly scratching his ears, so that's why most of the scabbing is around and below his ear. The photo of Major on the right shows how he looked after being shaved and being allowed to scratch himself again. You can see he managed to scratch in the same place as Possum is bloodied and that the skin looks a bit discolored now in the shaved area. Major was the worst of the three cats as far as scratching damage and area of damage.
I believe these photos of how Major and Sargeant scratched themselves while in state custody disproves the testimony of Fiske and Belliveau about how a cat can't scratch itself there. You will see from Major's records that he was back at the veterinary eight days into custody and described with large areas of scabs and oozing pus. These facts should disprove Belliveau's chemical burn diagnosis. The testimony given in regard to this cat was unprofessional and disrespectful to me and my cats. It shows how people with a similar official or professional status will protect each other, even during court testimony. It should be against the law for a veterinary practice to provide records to or report suspected abuse to animal control without a warrant.
Documentation Updated March 1, 2021 by Elmvale Farm
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