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EDIT 10/06/11: NEW PICTURES of Malachi and our other kitties here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggiet...7627708647817/
I would like to introduce you all to our newest baby, Malachi.
Here's Malachi's story.
He was part of a litter of 5 that was surrendered to a no-kill shelter in Austin when they were just a few days old. We don't know why they were surrendered or who their mama is, but the shelter took them in and bottle fed them for about 3 weeks. After that, one of the shelter volunteers named Jo took the litter in and fostered them in her home.
When the kittens were about 2 1/2 months old, the shelter decided to spay/neuter them. (please, no debates about what age to neuter a kitten.) Something happened while Malachi was under anesthesia and he started to crash. We don't know if he had a bad/allergic reaction to the anesthesia, or if the vets administered it wrong, or what. Whatever happened, Malachi's respiratory system shut down and he stopped breathing. The vets had to do kitty CPR, including mouth-to-mouth, to resuscitate him. By the time they brought him back, he had been oxygen deprived for so long that he was brain damaged.
At first, it was like he was a newborn kitten. He couldn't eat, walk, or use the litterbox on his own. He also was, and still is, blind. His foster, Jo, took him home and hand fed him and cleaned up after him when he couldn't find the litterbox. She taught him how to eat and drink on his own and how to use the litterbox on his own.
Recently, my husband and I were in the market for a special needs kitty. I mentioned in another thread that we were thinking of adopting a kitty with diabetes insipidus. We ended up not taking him home because we didn't think his personality was right for us and our cats. But we still wanted a special needs kitty, so we got word out to some of the other fosters within the shelter, including Jo. We met Malachi last Friday and knew he was the one.
He is super cuddly and snuggly and loves to be held. He purrs when he is happy, which is pretty often. He is friendly toward everyone, even when the other kitties are grumpy toward him. He is curious and fearless.
He gets around the house amazingly well for not being able to see. When we got him home, we let him out of his carrier and he started trotting around like he owned the place. He occasionally bumps into objects that are low to the ground, like food bowls or toys, but he has never run into a wall or chair (unless he starts zooming around and slides across our hardwood floors without being able to catch himself.)
We took him to our vet today and our vet was very impressed with him. We determined that he can see light; when the vet shined a bright, concentrated light in Malachi's eyes, he flinched. But he is not interested at all in quiet toys and did not flinch when the vet came at his face quickly with his fingers, so other than light, he is totally blind. The vet thinks there is a small chance he may regain some of his vision eventually, but the surgery when he crashed was about 3 months ago and normally he would be showing more improvement by now if he was going to improve at all. So there is a very good chance he will always be blind.
But his hearing and sense of smell are phenomenal. He had no trouble finding the food bowls, water fountain, and litterboxes without us showing them to him once we got him home for the first time. He knows when someone is approaching and will turn to "look" at them. We put him on the floor in the exam room at the vet's office and he immediately started exploring, without bumping into any of us standing in the room, or any of the walls. Our vet was very impressed with how well he was getting around, as well as how confident he seemed. He is not intimidated by anything. Our vet said we did a good thing and that he is going to be a very cool cat.
Our cats are a little bit grumpy about having a newcomer in the house but we are not too worried about it. Ash likes him just fine, because Ash likes everybody. Pluto is a little jealous that he is no longer the baby boy and growls whenever Malachi gets too close. Mint is fine with him as long as it's on her terms. If she approaches him, she is fine, but if he is tromping around (as he often does) and gets too close to her, she will hiss at him and run away. Yume, who is normally the worst with newcomers, is actually taking to him the best after Ash. Her and Malachi bumped noses earlier this evening and Yume did back off and hiss after a moment, but none of the others have let Malachi get that close to them. None of them have actively attacked Malachi or been aggressive toward him, they have just hissed and given him warning swats on the head if he gets too close. We're confident they will all come around in time.
Currently, Malachi has discovered my fleece blanket, which is very soft and warm. He spent quite a while kneading it, and is currently curled up on top of it. <3
I would like to introduce you all to our newest baby, Malachi.
Here's Malachi's story.
He was part of a litter of 5 that was surrendered to a no-kill shelter in Austin when they were just a few days old. We don't know why they were surrendered or who their mama is, but the shelter took them in and bottle fed them for about 3 weeks. After that, one of the shelter volunteers named Jo took the litter in and fostered them in her home.
When the kittens were about 2 1/2 months old, the shelter decided to spay/neuter them. (please, no debates about what age to neuter a kitten.) Something happened while Malachi was under anesthesia and he started to crash. We don't know if he had a bad/allergic reaction to the anesthesia, or if the vets administered it wrong, or what. Whatever happened, Malachi's respiratory system shut down and he stopped breathing. The vets had to do kitty CPR, including mouth-to-mouth, to resuscitate him. By the time they brought him back, he had been oxygen deprived for so long that he was brain damaged.
At first, it was like he was a newborn kitten. He couldn't eat, walk, or use the litterbox on his own. He also was, and still is, blind. His foster, Jo, took him home and hand fed him and cleaned up after him when he couldn't find the litterbox. She taught him how to eat and drink on his own and how to use the litterbox on his own.
Recently, my husband and I were in the market for a special needs kitty. I mentioned in another thread that we were thinking of adopting a kitty with diabetes insipidus. We ended up not taking him home because we didn't think his personality was right for us and our cats. But we still wanted a special needs kitty, so we got word out to some of the other fosters within the shelter, including Jo. We met Malachi last Friday and knew he was the one.
He is super cuddly and snuggly and loves to be held. He purrs when he is happy, which is pretty often. He is friendly toward everyone, even when the other kitties are grumpy toward him. He is curious and fearless.
He gets around the house amazingly well for not being able to see. When we got him home, we let him out of his carrier and he started trotting around like he owned the place. He occasionally bumps into objects that are low to the ground, like food bowls or toys, but he has never run into a wall or chair (unless he starts zooming around and slides across our hardwood floors without being able to catch himself.)
We took him to our vet today and our vet was very impressed with him. We determined that he can see light; when the vet shined a bright, concentrated light in Malachi's eyes, he flinched. But he is not interested at all in quiet toys and did not flinch when the vet came at his face quickly with his fingers, so other than light, he is totally blind. The vet thinks there is a small chance he may regain some of his vision eventually, but the surgery when he crashed was about 3 months ago and normally he would be showing more improvement by now if he was going to improve at all. So there is a very good chance he will always be blind.
But his hearing and sense of smell are phenomenal. He had no trouble finding the food bowls, water fountain, and litterboxes without us showing them to him once we got him home for the first time. He knows when someone is approaching and will turn to "look" at them. We put him on the floor in the exam room at the vet's office and he immediately started exploring, without bumping into any of us standing in the room, or any of the walls. Our vet was very impressed with how well he was getting around, as well as how confident he seemed. He is not intimidated by anything. Our vet said we did a good thing and that he is going to be a very cool cat.
Our cats are a little bit grumpy about having a newcomer in the house but we are not too worried about it. Ash likes him just fine, because Ash likes everybody. Pluto is a little jealous that he is no longer the baby boy and growls whenever Malachi gets too close. Mint is fine with him as long as it's on her terms. If she approaches him, she is fine, but if he is tromping around (as he often does) and gets too close to her, she will hiss at him and run away. Yume, who is normally the worst with newcomers, is actually taking to him the best after Ash. Her and Malachi bumped noses earlier this evening and Yume did back off and hiss after a moment, but none of the others have let Malachi get that close to them. None of them have actively attacked Malachi or been aggressive toward him, they have just hissed and given him warning swats on the head if he gets too close. We're confident they will all come around in time.
Currently, Malachi has discovered my fleece blanket, which is very soft and warm. He spent quite a while kneading it, and is currently curled up on top of it. <3
and 
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