Our foster Miss Itty – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
Since bringing Miss Itty into our home as a shelter foster seven months and twenty-four days ago, you have all welcomed her into the cat community. And we thank you! In comments, many of you have hinted at, wished aloud, and openly suggested that we might want to have a conversation or two (or twelve) about the possibility of making her an official Colehaus Cat.
Well, another addition would top us out, once more, at our absolute limit of nine cats. There would be no room for a stray kitten here or there, an injured feral, or any hard-luck cases.
And then, there’s Miss Itty’s health issues, senior age, and vet expenses to worry about. Midway through last week we learned her urinalysis and blood work shows Stage 3 kidney disease. Poor girl.
On the other hand, nine has always been our lucky number…
Miss Itty – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
Over the weekend, our foster Miss Itty needed to go to the vet after a painful UTI made itself known. Because she’s “difficult” during exams, we have to medicate her three hours beforehand, making things more interesting. The good thing is she doesn’t have bladder or kidney stones, which we feared, and that were completely ruled out via X-Rays.
The bad thing is she has ecoli cells mixed in with her UTI and those can be very resistant to generalized antibiotics, such as Clavamox. A culture is being sent to a lab to determine which strain of ecoli is present and which antibiotic will effectively wipe the infection out.
In the meantime, she has the entire Cat Den at her disposal. There she enjoys quiet late morning snoozing followed by breakfast in bed, full room cleanings, fresh linen service twice daily (more as needed), lazy afternoon naps in muted sunshiny sun puddles, and special 5-star dinners with Dad.
Our foster Miss Itty – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
Back to the possibility of a Colehaus adoption: There are worries. There will be budget adjustments. There are questions. There will come answers.
1. Miss Itty is a senior cat and has been through much, both physically and emotionally. Between ear polyps, surgery, and infection after infection, she started out as a stray, and had been at the shelter for almost two years after losing her owner and home of six years.
2. She’d had a very short fostering break with another family, but due to unfortunate circumstances, she couldn’t stay and she was taken back to the shelter.
3. She still requires once per week ear cleanings.
4. She has a non-cancerous fluid-filled cyst on her back that bothers her a little from time-to-time, and as with most cats, she could use dental work.
5. Miss Itty is a cranky cat. Not all the time, not even half the time, but flash a pill bottle or syringe or the bottle of ear cleaning fluid and well, she’s not inclined to be cooperative. At all.
6. As a senior cat, we suspected she might have or would have age-related health problems other than those endless ear infections that required countless rounds of one ear medication after another. And she didn’t have much vital medical information about her to throw hints at what might come. No blood work, no kidney values, no allergy information, nothing for anyone to go on. Everything would need to be started from scratch.
Our foster Miss Itty – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
We’ve talked at length with our favorite vets about Miss Itty and her age, and steps forward regarding Stage 3 kidney disease, and we’ll continue that conversation once her UTI clears up.
Nevertheless, we’ve seen her personality emerge from a frightened, angry cat who seemed to accept she belonged nowhere to one who engages us and purrs more often than not. We’ve seen her stress level drop significantly. We’ve seen her interact and play with other cats, Miss Newton and Olivia, most notably, and a time or two with Quint and Viola.
And we’ve grown terribly fond of her. The thought of her not having a forever home, with all she has going on, pains us. When she needs stability and comfort the most, she had no real home… until now.
Please re-welcome this dear cat, our former foster Miss Itty, whom, with her approval, we have renamed Sunny. To remain here where she’s safe and warm, watched over and cared for, and with a full, happy belly, may she always feel love. You’re an official Colehaus Cat now, Sunny! Welcome!
Sunny, formerly Miss Itty, with her Dad – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
