They don’t make life jackets for sailors who weigh one pound.
No water wings or floaties would fit his stubby twig legs.
There was only one life preserver for the smallest of swimmers.
Yo-Yo was dangling with his mother when they washed up on the Tabby’s Place shore. Mama Yaya glared at us warily. She had not booked this trip. If it were up to her, they would remain on the high seas of freedom, feral and unseen.
But freedom and hunger are never far apart for a cat without a lifeguard. Yaya had already lost one newborn to the cruelties of winter. Yo-Yo was all she had left. Mama Yaya was not about to let us toy with her hopes.
Thanks to Yaya, Yo-Yo was plump as a tiny beach ball. She gave every drop of her strength so he would believe life was a smooth cruise. But Yo-Yo’s cherub cheeks did not know the whole sea chantey. He had been born as bent as driftwood.
Kittens like Yo-Yo are often called “swimmers,” since their back legs are splayed like those of a frog. “Swimmer syndrome” has any number of causes, from malnutrition to genetics. Without early intervention, kittens like Yo-Yo may never walk or stand on their own. In some cases, being forced to lay on their bellies can become fatal.
But no kitten is on their own when love is the captain.
There was still time to get Yo-Yo into the lifeboat.
Hope was not sunk, because the grey pearl became our treasure.
Yo-Yo went home with one of Tabby’s Place’s most expert caregivers, our undercover angel Drew. If that name sounds familiar, there’s good reason. Drew has buoyed up many a cat who had nearly drowned in despair. From Lola to Smoothie to oceans of infants, cats have counted on our Veterinary Technician when they need “impossible” healing and selfless (and often sleepless) care. You could search the seven seas and never find a foster parent so devoted.
But Yo-Yo’s needs would require all hands on deck … your hands.
And, if you’ve ever given to Tabby’s Place, you were there.
Your hands enfolded Yo-Yo like a tiny orange life vest, walking his itty-bitty body through physical therapy. Your gentle fingers massaged his little legs, coaxing them in range-of-motion exercises over and over and over. With exquisite tenderness, you taped Yo-Yo’s joints into place, teaching his bones and spirit to stand tall.
Day by day, the knots loosened, and our swimmer found his legs.
Week by week, Yo-Yo played and prevailed, loving and leaping with no need for water wings.
And for all the years to come, the silver sailor who was too needy for most will forever be your kitten.
Saving a baby like Yo-Yo is no solo swim. It is a team relay. Every role is essential. Front-line caregivers like Drew lead the freestyle swim, improvising hour-by-hour for each kitten’s ever-changing, intensive needs.
But they can only do so because you are there swimming the butterfly, wrapping them in wings of generosity. Volunteers and behind-the-scenes workers do the backstroke, bearing blankets, budgets, and all the secret, sacred, salty work of saving lives.
We are a motley crew. We are the Tabby’s Place family. And we leave no kitten to paddle alone.
By the time you read these words, Yo-Yo will be romping in his forever home. The only “swimming” he does these days is lolling in laps of love. He has forgotten he was ever landlocked by his own legs.
But he will never forget how grand the future feels, like sunlight sparkling on the water.
He will always remember that love’s anchor holds.
And now, you get to be the life vest for the next little one.
Another tiny castaway is coming to Tabby’s Place. We don’t know the day or the hour. We only know he will have nowhere else to turn, and we will not turn him away.
Which is why we turn to you to Cherish the Kittens.
Please give today. The Cherish the Kittens Fund Drive only comes once a year, so this is your time to be a life preserver. Your donation will be doubled.
Your love will turn the tide.
PS: Yaya had her own victory at sea. Freed from the endless cycle of kittens, she can now dive into each day without heartache. She is thriving under the watchful eye of a compassionate colony caregiver, who understands that Yaya’s opinion of humans will always be a little salty.