Hi! My name is Jessica and I’m a volunteer at Tabby’s Place. I’m a huge cat lover, and think that Tabby’s Place is wonderful. I love helping out and spending time with the cats. Each one is special in his or her own way. When I was asked to be Amber’s Special Needs Correspondent, I was intrigued, and right away agreed to do it.

I’m looking forward to spending time with Amber and getting to know her. It will be quite a challenge for me to try to build a relationship with her. Whereas some cats are very friendly, lovable, and easy to get to know, Amber is quite the opposite. She does not like people. She does not like to be petted or appear to want any attention from humans. She is virtually impossible for the vets and workers to handle. She is, I believe, a mean cat. I have been volunteering at Tabby’s Place for over a year and, until now, have spent almost no time with Amber.

When I was at Tabby’s Place this past week, I had my first “session” with Amber. I decided to take it very slowly. I came in peace, by offering her a heaping plate of yummy wet food. Luckily, Amber loves wet food! She even let me hold the plate so that she could eat every last bite, without so much as a hiss. When she was done eating, I sat face level to her and talked to her very gently. Looking into her eyes, I kept saying her name and telling her how pretty she is (she is a beautiful tortie with gorgeous green eyes.) For a while, she glared back at me. After a spell, she had had enough and turned away from me. That was it for our first time getting to know each other. I did not try to pet her, as I didn’t want to provoke a negative reaction.

Although Amber isn’t a friendly cat, she deserves a long, healthy life. Unfortunately, Amber has two medical conditions. One is Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) also known as kidney disease. Cats with this disease have kidneys that progressively lose their ability to function. Luckily, Amber’s condition has not progressed. Usually there are multiple treatments available for cats with this condition. Due to Amber’s temperment and personality, most of these options are not viable.

Since she likes wet food so much, a prescription wet food diet is currently her treatment for her CRF. Her second medical condition is a heart murmur, which was detected on her intake exam. Since we now know that we can get Amber to take medicine by putting it in her wet food, we are scheduling an ultrasound for her this month to find out more about her heart murmur. Hopefully, we’ll have more information for you month.

Thank you for your kind support of Amber. I truly feel that she is a special cat, and I am looking forward to getting to know her better and keeping you updated on her conditions.