I guess this is as good a time as any to introduce everyone to our newest family member, Lord Nibbler. Let me start by saying this - I couldn't picture myself ever voluntarily going to a shelter and adopting a cat like Nibbler. I always wanted a grey cat. Well, I wanted a short-haired grey cat with big yellow eyes. Instead, I have Nibbler. Or maybe Nibbler has me.
According to our vet, Nibbler is about 7 months old. He's also a bit of a mess, and I don't mean just his personality. Nibbler is, quite possibly, the result of inbreeding. He has a host of issues, the most obvious of which would be his two front paws. They are contracted at odd angles, something typically called "tendon contractures." It's a birth defect that can often be corrected if caught at birth. The correction process involves a lot of time, patience, and a slew of splints to stretch the legs back into as normal a position as possible. Nibbler wasn't so lucky. At 7 months, his anatomy is developed enough that his legs would have to be broken to even begin to attempt correction. Considering his health, age, and mobility, the vet and I did not think surgery would be a good idea.
Nibbler also has scoliosis which results in a short, twisted tail that he often wags like a dog when he is happy. The scoliosis and tendon contractures result in him ambulating like a rabbit, often hopping on his back legs. He'll also engage one or both of his front paws in a slightly antalgic gait. Surprising or not, he cannot "meow" like our other cats. He makes almost a peeping/purr noise (imagine a baby wookie) or screams like a rabbit. In fact, he has so many rabbit-like traits that we have begun jokingly referring to Nibbler as a cabbit, or a cat/rabbit hybrid. Designer breeds? So last year. Cabbits are the new designer species!He goes back tomorrow for the rest of his vaccines. The vet gave him a mostly clean bill of health - FIV/FELV negative, heartworm negative, and a healthy weight. He did have a severe case of tapeworms, and signs that he had had a severe flea infestation. (When he came into our house, the first thing I did was bathe him and put flea meds on him.) While there were no fleas on him the day of his first vet appointment, he had patches that were almost bald, as well as those raised bumps that appear when so many fleas get on an animal. His skin was also very tough - a sign of living outside and possible dehydration.
Nibbler is certainly a hot mess, but what struck me about him is that he's a survivor. He's beyond that, really, because he doesn't feel sorry for himself, he doesn't play the victim or the unsung hero. He's just a cat. He eats, he plays, he sleeps. He's incredibly sweet and social, which was honestly a surprise to me. He quickly adjusted to our two dogs and two other cats. Heck, he's even adjusted to walking on a leash/harness...well, when it's going the way he wants to.That's one of life's great lessons, though. People like to can it into cute catchphrases about lemons and courage, but it's so much more simple than that.
Nibbler was the first cat of his kind that our vet had met in person. (She thought he was pretty darn amazing.) She said the only important things right now are to make sure he maintains an ideal weight and is comfortable in his mobility. He could live for months, a few years, or even 20+ years, there's really no way to predict that.
I never thought I'd have a disabled pet in my life (I didn't consider Otto, who was deaf, to really be disabled.). If only I could get him to use the litter box, everything would be peachy!! (Suggestions welcome.) Currently, he is peeing on a puppy pad, but he insists (to the point that he'll move anything in his way) on pooping on the tile bathroom floor...though he sometimes opts for the hardwood. I've tried pan, round, and covered boxes. Boxes with steps, boxes without steps. *sigh*Anyway, pardon the rambling post to introduce you to Nibbler!! Signing off with a cute picture of Fry and Axle snuggling. :)
perhaps put tile in half the bottom of the litter box?
ReplyDeleteThat makes me giggle, but not a bad thought! :)
DeleteHe might dislike the feeling of litter, the instability of it, since he can't really ambulate like other cats. Consider maybe a litter box just for him, but empty of anything other than perhaps a few pieces of newspaper or a puppy pad - and cut an opening so he doesn't have to haul himself up over an edge?
ReplyDeleteI hope you let us know what happens!
What we ended up doing was sequestering him in a large dog crate with nothing but a litter box and food and water. He used the box, but I could tell it was really hard for him to get in and out. We have to have a hooded one since he kicks litter really bad. We got a large hooded box and cut the entrance so that it's only 1 1/2 inches tall. He can step right into the box. We placed it in the bathroom, and he used it!! He's had a couple "oops" since the introduction of the new box, but otherwise he's doing great!
DeleteLovely :) When at an awesome cat shelter here in Melbourne, Australia (Ingrid's Haven) with my friend who was adopting a cat, I fell for "Ray"- he was trying to nibble my finger through the bars of his cage. I went back a day later to get him.
ReplyDeleteHe's ginger and medium-haired. I've always been a short-haired tabby fan - a few months prior I went to adopt an old short-haired tabby from the same place but ended up with a young long-haired tabby... who since got out of the house and is still MIA :( .
Anyway, what the point of this was: Ray was 5 months old and almost entirely blind. Malnutrition when tiny we think caused it. Not long after coming home he fractured his back right patella - a VERY rare injury in cats. He hobbled around for 2 months while it healed, and the vet found that he'd had several other breaks earlier in life as well. 3 months later, he fractured both back patellas. Hobble hobble again.
He also didn't lose his baby teeth and ended up with 2 sets when his adult came in.
He can't purr or meow properly either and he snores so loud and if I'm brushing him he's been known to drool. Sometimes he freaks out and starts trying to growl but can't do that either. He can't jump and pulls himself up to my bed, but sometimes I find him on tiny windowsills - once he got up onto a tiny windowsill that had a slightly ajar window. He can't see tiny windowsills so no idea how he got up. I didn't even know he had gotten out, but later my housemate was leaving for work and he was just sitting on the doorstep, waiting to be let in.
Overall, he's ridiculous, but I love him. Never thought I'd adopt a ginger long hair, let alone a blind cat, but my friends and I joke that we're too similar - I have some mild cerebral palsy and freak out and get bitchy and do weird things when really happy too.
Definitely a case of "Ray got me".