Quite often when animals come into our shelter, they are in pretty rough shape. We do our best to help them with TLC, nourishment, medication when needed, and veterinary care if required.
I am so often struck with the strength of spirit of some of these creatures -- and a small calico kitten who ended up at our shelter is one of those special beings. She was very sick and so we sent her to the vet and it turned out that her internal infection had also gone into her eyes, which resulted in her needing to have an eye removed.
The day after the kitten came back from surgery, she seemed to still be adjusting to only seeing with one eye and a bit hesitant when jumping down from the shelf in her cage but she was very much seeking attention, purring and rubbing against my hand. The day after that, she was playing with the other kittens in her cage (nobody was playing too rough with her either), and when I came near her cage she came right to the front, sitting up straight and looking right at me with a very confident look. Before I got to the shelter, I was thinking about how tragic this was, this young little being that has had such a rough start, being so sick, having to be at the vet for quite a while and needing to have an eye removed. But here she was, looking at me as though saying, "What's the problem? I'm here, I feel good and I'm ready for some attention from you".
When I took her out of the cage to comb her and do TTouch on her, she was very receptive, was purring and I could just feel so much gratitude coming from her. On the little kittens, I have been using a very small, inexpensive mustache comb which I found in a local pharmacy. The kittens are very soothed by being combed and the fine-tooth comb is great to use on their very short, fine fur. I have been doing a lot of ear strokes on this kitten as well, as the ear has many acupressure points, so this can help strengthen the immune system and digestive system.
Every day when I come in, she is waiting right at the front of her cage for me to take her out and do TTouch on her.
I have to thank this kitten for teaching me so much and for showing me what strength and persistence of spirit is possible from a very young, small creature. She also reminded me once again of how important it is to truly appreciate the moment.
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Funny I stumbled upon your blog...I adopted this cat! We named her Joop, and she is doing really well. She has no idea she is missing an eye, and she is getting along really really well with the black kitten we also adopted (I wonder if this is the shy black cat you posted about...) Just thought you'd like a quick update, since it seems little Joopy had an impression on you!
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