Achilles came to us from a few blocks south of Hyde Park proper, where Adrienne works her kitty magic and Tanya keeps her Tribe. Adrienne (the rescuer of Ori, Solomon, et al.) was worried that the kitten was not being accepted by other cats and possibly has a back-leg injury. Diane and Ruth went to scope it out. Diane says, "We walked to the front to the building where we were met by any number of beautiful friendly cats. I'm particularly enamored with the very light tabby with blue eyes! This very small kitten came out of the bushes next door and when I knelt down to coax it closer, he went belly up and purred like a motor boat."
He has some as-yet-undetermined problem with his back legs. He is chez Fostermom Mireille receiving physical therapy (really!). His favorite activity is cuddling.
Achilles is two months old and has a perfect widdle tabby face with beautiful innocent eyes and a dainty white chin.
6 comments:
Achilles was first called Harvey (after a friend of Tanya's) but earned his new name because
1) he is a hero;
2) he is perfect in every way except for a problem with his legs.
He's a hero because he survived being homeless for some weeks (at least 2; maybe more) with back legs that don't (yet) work properly. They don't (yet) straighten between the knee and the thigh so he is squatting when he should be standing. He is mobile but can't jump or run fast. With any luck, the problem is muscular and the physical therapy will solve the problem. He is near perfect because his response to the world is to purr - he likes everything he sees. The vet and vet tech couldn't take his pulse or hear his heart because he was purring so hard.
So keep your paws crossed everyone for Achilles.
Could someone describe his physical therapy? Thanks!
HI Martha
Sure -thanks so much for your interest? He has PT twice a day for about 5 minutes at a time. He lies on his back in your lap (one of his favorite locations!) and you slowly pull on each of his legs, one at a time, and straighten it out. At the same time you push around his leg sockets with your fingers trying to put some pressure on the muscles while the leg is outstretched. The vet said it should cause him a little discomfort but no pain, so when he squeaks a bit, you stop and cuddle him in between! He doesn't really like it but takes it very well, little sweetheart. After 2 weeks of this we'll have a sense of whether it has made any difference to his mobility. I think it has, but that's probably wishful seeing on my part ... Depending on whether the PT has any effect, he might need an X-ray to determine if his legs need to be operated on ...
I love his round little tummy!
Martha, thanks for asking Ruth that Q. Look at the wealth of info that came forth. Its got to be a very special caretaker to give a needy kitty so much of the right kind of attention. Wonderful!
How kind of you Anon! But this is the great thing about adopting a cat from HPC. All our cats are known and loved as individuals - we can tell potential adopters all about them. I was just at a potential adopter meeting last night that illustrated this beautifully - the depth of knowledge and affection that the fosterers had was incredible. And learning about the cat's personality in this way can really help adopters make the right choice. It's really a great set up!
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