Greetings, Olive Fanciers,

Happy Almost Spring! It’s time for another update on our feisty girl.

To the surprise of no one, Olive managed to outwit the humans again over the past month. You’ll recall that she was being given a new medication to soften her stool. Our little spitfire is not fond of taking any meds, she’s very smart, and she has a long history of nibbling pill pockets just right so that she gets the treat but leaves the medication behind.

We did try the stool softener in a pill pocket, but it was too large and, apparently, too objectionable, as Olive’s response was to stop eating pill pockets altogether. Well, that’s one way around it! We ended up giving her a different medication; this one is given in wet food. So far, she’s getting it down, but with this young lady, you can never be certain of anything in the long term. At any rate, the medication does seem to be making something of a difference in keeping her comfortable when she’s being expressed.

With some frequency, we get asked what kind of quality of life Olive has. We know that most people are not accustomed to seeing cats with only two functioning legs, and we know Olive cannot speak for herself. But anyone who watches her for five minutes will understand how well she gets around.

Whether she’s stealing another feline’s cat treats, checking out something new in the lobby, or simply attempting to avoid getting expressed, our young lady scoots around with surprising speed. She’s a favorite of the staff, volunteers, and visitors alike, and we believe her disability fazes us more than it does her. And she loves to play; just look at this video of her with a catnip toy (Olive loves fresh catnip)!

 

As always, my thanks to you for helping us keep our little lobby greeter in fine style.

Your correspondent,
Stephanie