If you’re a warm-hearted human – with a warm lap – you are likely to become Boots’ new best friend the moment he meets you.

Cats don’t come any sweeter than the little tuxedo with the big, round head. Quite simply, Boots is a love bug. If you sit down in his presence, he’ll be in your lap in a flash, rolling and purring up a storm. Boots is blissful in the presence of love – and he has a knack for making everyone he meets fall in love with him, too.

But the cat who touches every heart has some less-charming heart issues of his own. At only three years of age (as of spring 2010), gentle Boots is already in congestive heart failure. This means that his heart disease (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, also known as HCM) has progressed to the point that he has fluid around his heart

The silver lining in this serious diagnosis is that Boots clearly doesn’t feel sick. We moved our love bug to the Lobby after his diagnosis, so that he could enjoy all-day access to the human affection he craves. If we didn’t know Boots had a very serious condition, we would never guess it from his bouncy energy, gleaming tuxedo attire and, of course, that ultra-affectionate personality.

Although Boots’ condition is very serious, we’re hopeful that the right medications – and a lot of love – can help him to keep going strong for a long time to come. We’re presently treating our love bug with a small dose of aspirin (to prevent a blood clot); a diuretic to remove excess fluid from Boots’ lungs and to make his heart’s job easier; and a medication to lower his blood pressure and to reduce his heart’s workload. Regular blood tests will help us to ensure that his kidneys are tolerating the medications.

We will also be keeping very close tabs on the progress of Boots’ heart disease. In fact, he’ll probably have a tiny shaved patch on his handsome chest at all times, since the fur will barely have time to grow back before he’s due for the next quarterly ultrasound. That’s okay; our tuxedo snuggler is perfectly handsome even with a funny “hairdo.”

Boots has his youth and his sweet, happy spirit working in his favor. We are all very hopeful that he has a lot of living and loving yet to do – perhaps even in a wonderful adoptive home. Until his forever family comes along, we adore having Boots at Tabby’s Place. Please help us to provide for this cuddly boy’s needs by becoming his newest sponsor.