Potato the cat with no ears with a cute bow tie
An earless cat who was adopted by its foster parents is now living its best life following a cancer diagnosis.
The cat named Potato, at the age 14, had to undergo surgery after being diagnosed with external tumours on both ears, shortly after being adopted.
Carl Leong, 39, initially adopted Horlick in 2018, another cat who was a domestic shorthair. A year later Carl and his wife, Sarah adopted Potato after fostering him for a number of months.
Both cats had spent years living on the streets together, after their feeder passed away. They were later picked up by a local shelter in 2016.
14-year-old Potato had to undergo surgery after being diagnosed with external tumours on both of his ears
Despite Potato’s poor health which has cost thousands to date, Carl and Sarah couldn’t resist adopting him after seeing the bond the two cats shared.
Carl said: “When we decided to adopt Potato in April 2019, we found a ceruminous adenoma, a kind of external ear tumour, had reoccurred in both of Potato’s ears – it was first found and treated in 2017.”
“The shelter asked us to take Potato home as foster parents so he could meet Horlick again and we could monitor his health condition closely.”
“Potato and Horlick were so happy to see each other again!”
“Sadly though, Potato’s tumours turned bad in the end of 2019 and the vet recommended removing his ear canals and ear flaps so the tumours would never return.”
Potato the cat when he had ears and skin issues while he was at the shelter
Potato the cat with no ears just after surgery
“He completed a three-hour surgery and became the no-ear-meow Potato in Jan 2020. We officially adopted him after the surgery.”
Potato was also diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and pancreatitis. The diagnosis has meant that Carl and Sarah had to spend thousands on his road to recovery.
Carl said: “Potato’s pancreatitis treatment required five days of intensive hospital care and cost over HK$30,000 (£3,455).”
“The chronic kidney disease requires body check monitoring every three months and each time costs around HK$3,000 (£345).”
“In regard to the ear removal surgery, we needed around HK$30,000 after the clinic gave a huge discount to the shelter, but luckily the shelter successfully raised the funds to cover the cost.”
The couple regularly share content of Horlick and Potato on their social media, and they also promote adoption to encourage others to also follow
Carl with Potato the cat with no ears
