Hannah was living with her family in a hotel in the bootheel of Missouri. When her "family" moved out, they didn't take Hannah with them. Management of the hotel reached out to her owner and was told by the owner that they would be back for her. Sadly they never returned. At that point, management called animal control to come get her and she spent the next several weeks in a cage in a facility filled with barking dogs and little human interaction. Fortunately, the animal control officer reached out to rescues to try to help Hannah get into a foster home, and that's where Heartland Humane Society entered the picture.
Hannah (or Hannah Banana as we affectionately call her) came to her foster home confused and depressed. She didn't want much to do with her foster parents. She was sad and scared and easily aggravated so we let her settle in. During that time, we noticed that she had a tilted head and wobbly gate but we weren't able to interact with her due to her emotional state. She became more and more secluded and stopped eating, seeming very disoriented and lethargic. Of course she had been to our vet a few times and she seemed healthy other than some dental issues and losing weight. We had that difficult conversation that maybe her quality of life pointed in the direction of letting her go. BUT....something told us to continue to fight for her. We started a regime of medications, continued to try to comfort her with pets and soft conversation, and she started turning the corner to better health.
After 5 weeks of staying in her safe place, she came out to explore and ask for head scratches. We started brushing her fur and she enjoyed it. She started to purr and show excitement for her wet food.. She accepted sniffs from the other kitties in the room, and started gazing out the window to watch the squirrels climb the tree. We've also determined (purely from observation and normal bloodwork) that she has a condition called Cerebella Hypoplasia, aka Wobbly Cat syndrome. It is not a disease and does not require medication. It only means that her family will need to make sure she has safe access to food, water and litterbox, and probably kept away from stairs. She does try and sometimes succeeds jumping onto a very low cat tree, but since she is off balance it is quite the challenge and she's not afraid to try.
Hannah has recently had some dental work done and is now ready to start looking for her forever home. She is looking for a patient family, who will be able to learn to read her body language. She would probably do best in a home with no children, or older children. She simply adores head rubs, but does not a fan of being restrained. She does allow being picked up to move her, but it's on her terms. She only needs a window to look out of, a soft bed to lay in, someone to sit next to, and lots of pets. Oh, and some wet food!
November 9, 2024, 12:51 am
