The holidays are officially over, which I think makes it the perfect time to send a little extra cheer your way with this lovely story. A few weeks ago, Brian emailed me about a little kitten, Blinky — who’s now 5-months-old, that he and Denise adopted. To many people, Blinky would appear unadoptable. She pretty much is the amalgamation of all of the factors that make a kitten less adoptable: she is black, blind in one eye, and there’s more to it than that. But Blinky has become a welcomed and loved part of her family for those very reasons!
Here’s her story:
Blinky is an extra-special all black kitten; she came to us as company for another little kitten (Phoebe) we adopted that someone found in the middle of the freeway. We contacted some rescue centers, and when one said they had a kitten who was blind in one eye, we just had to have her. We went to pick her up at the local vet and to fill out the relevant forms. While this was going on, I was giving Blinky some love, and she just fell off my legs, backflipped over my hands. I was mortified.
At this point we didn’t know there was anything else wrong with her, she was only 4-weeks-old tops so her movements were put down to perception issues and regular kittens learning to walk. I noticed that when she was still her head would bobble about a bit, and she fell off the bed which upset me as she was such a small thing.
It was then that I suspected something may have been off and started to research her symptoms. It was Life with CH Cats that helped fill in the blanks and took away a lot of the worry about her condition. She has only a mild case of CH, enough to be cute and wobbly, I can only surmise that her mother didn’t have the nutrients to grow her properly as her left eye and cheek were not properly formed and her coat is very thin (but it is shiny). She is VERY hard to photograph, it’s almost like her coat sucks in all light and distorts the picture. She’s just a little black blob, who is incredibly fun and filled with so much love.
How does she manage the litter box? Eating and drinking? Do you do anything special to help?
She used to fall backward when she pooped, and we would have to watch for her and hold our hands above her shoulders for her to lean onto, now however she has learned a particular stance which means she doesn’t have to be assisted.
What’s one funny story about her (related to CH)? Or share a story about how she figured out how to do something CH cats “can’t” do.
She may not have been able to jump and wrestle with her foster-sister Phoebe at first, but she did have the fastest whappy paws known to man. Mean, old Phoebe used to bite Blinky’s butt and make her cry at first, to the extent where my wife slept on the floor to keep an eye on them. It was merely play and no one was hurt, but we were very protective of her. As she grew in mobility and confidence the tables turned and Blinky is now the tormentor punishing Phoebe for her early misdeeds. Regarding her “whappy paws,” Mimi, one of our other cats, came to have a look at her one day and after smelling her butt while she was asleep hissed at her which woke Blinky up and she went Bruce Lee on poor Mimi’s face. She may fall over in a gentle wind (or just standing still sometimes), but she is no pushover.
Has she ever hurt herself because of her CH?
I don’t think so but, she does sometimes fall off the bed.
Each animal is special in her own way. How is she special?
She’s Blinky, the Kung Foo kitten, Queen of the house, what more can be said.
Have you found ways to help her with her CH? How?
We built her a ramp onto the bed out of descending chairs, stools and a dozen pillows.
Do you have any words of wisdom for other CH parents?
Not really, other CH parents will already know how lucky they are to have such a special kitty in their lives.
What do you think people need to know about CH?
That it is just another quirk what makes a cat who they are.
What is your favorite and least favorite thing about her having CH?
She’s fun to watch when she’s playing, she just doesn’t know she’s differently abled. Least favorite is when she falls off the bed.
Anything else you’d like to add?
You can watch a YouTube video of her here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGjsZZZzD7w
Click here to read about other readers’ CH cats or tell us about your CH cat!
