About three weeks ago, the vet techs at my clinic found this kitty shuffling around in the bushes. She was covered with so many fleas, she was anemic, and her white fur was stained brown. She was so thin, you could feel every bony ridge of her spine, like a skeleton in a fur blanket. At the time, we couldn’t tell if she had trouble walking because there was actually something wrong with her, or if she just didn’t have the strength. She had abrasions on her legs from whacking herself.
Since she was FIV and FeLV negative, I didn’t have the heart to euthanize her when all she might need is a few more calories and a few fewer fleas.
Good flea control and a big bowl of food later, and she is much better.
Her walking has improved, but it is clear now that she has Manx Neuropathy: the genetics that kept her from growing a proper tail also screwed with the nerves for her legs, which run near the base of the tail. Fortunately, the nerves that control her anal and urethral sphincters, which also run nearby, are fine. So, she is perfectly litter trained so long as the box is big enough for her to get in.
Judging by her teeth, she’s about 5 years old. It is clear that she had a home at one point: a cat with her walking problems would not have survived as a feral for long, as her condition when we found her proves.
However, she does not like other cats. My cats have been nothing but civil to her, and she continues to hiss and spit every time she catches sight of one. It’s created a divide in the house. She needs to go to a new, permanent home, but everyone I know already has other kitties.
Anyone in the Seattle area need a kitty? She’ll never steal food off the kitchen counter or lay across your computer keyboard.
Going to call around one last time to see if her original owners are looking for her (if they aren’t idiots). Failing that, it’s off to the shelter where she’ll at least have a better shot at being adopted now than when we first found her.
