Lavender Haven Rattery and Rescue-Kitty

"Kitty" (Original, I know!)

2003 White/Marked Female Cat

"Kitty" is probably the most extreme rescue I have ever taken part in. I worked at a near by stable and one of the barn cats had kittens. The mother killed off all the babies except for 2. She had starved and abandoned the remaining two. I took them home and the little boy died during the first night. "Kitty" as we affectionately called her was a fighter. She got her name "Kitty" because her intestines prolapsed (came out externally) and she was such a raw bloody mess it was difficult to tell her sex. She also had a severe respiratory infection and her eyes were seeping from infection as they were still closed. I took her to the vet and they recommended putting her down and that she would more than likely test positive for feline leukemia. I decided to run the test and long and behold she was negative.

Then I asked what we could do for her. There really isn't any treatment that they recommended but suggested washing her 3 times a day, drying her with a blow dryer and using destine to help the inflamed skin. We started antibiotics and eye treatments. If you have ever blow dryed a cat you can understand the trying circumstances we went through for the next month! She pulled through with flying colors.

Her one long term problem is that she has a deformed front leg. They think she was so sick and malnourished that it didn't form correctly or that the mother damaged it. I fed her every 2 hrs for months and finally she was ready for "big girl food." I am so proud of her. She truly is a survivor. Cats learn to be cats from their mom and since "Kitty" didn't have one (except for me) she really doesn't act like a cat. She enjoys wrestling and sleeping with you in bed. She knows sit, speak, "go get your toy" and "who's at the door" on command. That is what happens when you let a kitten think that dogs are her role model!

Photo Taken July 31, 2006