Sometimes it’s just not meant to be — even for kittens.
That was our glum recognition as three of our little adoptees, Bunny, Hope, and Amy, were returned this month. Given their atomic adorableness, we believe they’ll all be adopted again, of course, though this will be a bit of a tougher proposition for challenging little Amy.
Even as Kitten Season supposedly slows down, we remain up to our earlobes in littles. We’ve most recently welcomed Dolorean, Biff, Marty McFly (all adopted), Clara, Flux, Morty, Kramer, Jerry, Binx, Vanilla and Chocolate. Don’t tell them it’s not Kitten Season; certainly don’t tell them they’re not the awesomest kittens ever. They would firmly (and adorably) disagree with you.
Flux (pictured below), in particular, is pretty full of high-energy cute, as evidenced by this little snippet captured by a volunteer. Kitty’s got some sweet moves!
In addition to the load of little ones in the realm of “normal”, there’s our mysterious, magical calico royalty, Princess Bubblegum (a.k.a. PBG). This tiny wonder (pictured at right) came to us from New York City, and she has already proven herself to be a true Tabby’s Place kind of kitty. You see, she was initially completely paralyzed, though she’s since regained a great deal of mobility. And in spite of having a healthy appetite (when I first met her, she was busy smushing her face in a bowl of food), she just didn’t seem to be doing very well. Enter the vet team from Tabby’s Place, and finally, they seem to have gotten to the root of Bubblegum’s challenges. She’s living with staff member Jess, who sent me this news just today:
“Bubblegum has been diagnosed with EPI, Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, which is the inability of the pancreas to manufacture and secrete the necessary enzymes required by the body to digest food and absorb nutrients…causing her body to starve no matter how much food the she eats.
“The treatment for EPI is to add in a supplement made from pork pancreas. These are the enzymes needed to digest food and absorb nutrients, so she needs these enzymes mixed in with every meal. She cannot have treats or any other food unless the enzymes are in it. The enzymes themselves are tricky; they cannot be cold or heated, just room temperature.
“PBG came to us as a kitten who was not gaining weight, and was failing to thrive and doing very terribly. Lots of diarrhea, eating but not gaining weight. Pooping everything out without absorbing any nutrients. Dr. C and Denise tested her for so many things, and then when everything else came back negative, they thought about EPI. EPI is seen more in dogs (my dog has it!). It is usually seen in older cats who have had pancreatitis. There has only been one other known kitten with congenital EPI, but Denise and I think that it’s not usually tested for because it’s so rare, and maybe other kittens that have died due to failure to thrive may have had it.
“The enzymes themselves are bitter, and cats don’t usually eat them, but thankfully Bubblegum does! (It was very hard to get my dog to start eating the enzymes with his food, but Bubblegum eats hers fine!)
“Because it would hard to find a place for Bubblegum at Tabby’s Place with her dietary restrictions, and because I’m familiar with EPI and how to handle the enzymes, we decided to keep her at my house until she gets adopted. She will be a Tabby’s Place cat, and if someone wants to adopt her, they can.”
Jess also mentioned that they’ve had to put up extra gates at her house, because teeny Bubblegum can slide herself under their doors. Clearly EPI doesn’t affect a kitten’s level of sassy!
PBG is just the kind of kitten who needs the care we can provide at Tabby’s Place. Not that they all don’t (and not that we don’t love giving them all the moon, stars, and lots of yummy food!), but Bubblegum needs us extra much, and we’re so grateful to have the support of wonderful people like you to make that care possible. Have a wonderful, love-filled Thanksgiving, and know that the kittens and the people at Tabby’s Place are especially grateful for your support.