On May 8th 2016, myself and my mother decided to visit our local animal shelter. We like to go and spend some time with the kitties, especially the shyer cats who need a little more TLC to come out of their shell. That day we didn’t go in with the intention of bringing home another cat, but as we walked around we kept being drawn back to this absolutely gorgeous cat named Bitsy. She was an eleven year old torti point Himalayan, and it was surprising to see a cat like her still in the shelter. She was hiding in a little one story kitty condo in her cage, looking at us with huge blue eyes. There was a sign on her cage door that said to ask about her before you fell in love, as she had special medical concerns.
We were definitely intrigued at that point, so we decided to talk to an adoption counselor about her. We were told she had stage two kidney disease, and would require supportive care at some point in the future. That “future” could be a week from now or more than a year away, there was no way to be certain. If we decided to adopt her, we were eventually in for prescription foods, subcutaneous fluids and medications.
We talked it over, and considering our experiences with caring for our senior special needs cats we decided we could handle all that she came with, and we felt we could offer her the good home she deserved. As we were filling out the adoption paperwork I got the chance to go through her veterinary records from her time at the shelter and I noticed that she hadn’t been eating very well and had been very scared while there. She had needed subcutaneous fluids while at the shelter, and some appetite stimulants. With the quiet nature of our home I was almost certain she would come out of her shell.
And boy did she. Bitsy now is almost completely unrecognizable compared to the cat described in her shelter records and the cat that we saw in that kitty condo. She is outgoing and talkative, and loves being pet and groomed. She sleeps at the end of my bed every night. Bits LOVES to play, and will play fetch with me if I have the right toy. We’ve been working on some tricks, and right now she is ecstatic to see her treats come out and readily offers a sit. She is eating super well and comes and bugs me like clockwork three times a day for her meals.
As of right now she needs no supportive care, she is staying well hydrated and her vet is happy with how she is doing. We will be more than happy to care for her when she starts needing more help, but for now we are thrilled that she is doing so well. I cannot believe the absolutely incredible cat we managed to bring home, and it being on Mother’s Day seems to be rather fitting.– Bitsy’s Human