CH Kitty Club

20131211 FigTree (Miss Wiggles)
Miss Wiggles was born in the inner-city suburb of Zetland, Sydney, Australia in 1996. She is my beautiful and adorable CH cat - she's is 17 and a half years old and she's my best friend.
 
Miss Wiggles was born to a stray cat that I was feeding who basically lived at the house I rented. The mother cat had 7 kittens in the backyard. They were well looked after by the mum, but one day when I saw she was moving them inside into the shower recess I knew I had just adopted 7 flatmates. 

After 6 weeks of kittens on curtains, kittens attached to my legs, kittens in cupboards, the sink, the pot plants, I knew they were all doing kitten things and were healthy and happy. I was enjoying them being around.

They would often all go screaming up the hallway and back again over & over - but there was one one little one who would be so excited she would just shake herself into a frenzy and then bunny hop down the hall at full speed almost bouncing off the walls. By this time the others were on their way back and this little kitten would just fall over as they all ran past her, she would get up, look around, and bunny hop after them all again.

One day the kittens were doing their usual laps of honour inside the house at full speed when they all ran under the table. That's when it happened. The little wiggly-one ran 'smack' into one of the heavy wooden corner leg. She didn't see it, and I didn't know up until that time, but she was almost blind. After examining her for any injuries and 100 cuddles and kisses I assessed she wasn't injured, though there was a bump on her nose. I placed her with one of the quieter kittens of the litter in the bedroom to play, and kept an eye on her for the rest of the day. 

The next day it was to the vets.

I was lucky to have a good vet who, although did not diagnose her with CH (pre-internet days), was concerned enough with her behaviour and condition that he did a few extra examinations to see what might be going on. In the end she was given a clean bill of health and I was made aware she possibly had around 10% vision - a tremor, and that she maybe prone to fits and spasms, might walk a bit wobbly, had crooked teeth, and a bad back, but she would make her own adjustments for everything as she grew. He also assured me that her vitals were good and though she may need a little more care and attention than most, she was ok to go home if that was what I wanted to do with her ... otherwise, if I was not going to keep her myself, she would have to go to an owner who knew of her condition - and that may make it hard to place her in an appropriate home. 

I had already fallen in love with her. It wasn't a hard decision to make to keep her with the knowing that the commitment maybe a little more than just an ordinary cat. I had grown up with many cats as pets - well loved and looked after - so I was ready to welcome a new kitten into my home - even though I didn't know she was a CH cat - I would work around her and we would work it out together.
Oh, and in saying that I did keep another of the kittens as well. A little male cat who was just scared of everything and would cry a lot. He wormed his way into my heart after hiding every time someone came to look at kittens - he was no where to be found. He was hiding between the bed and the wall. I named him 'Chicken' - and he is still with us and is Miss Wiggles close companion.

When I ask myself 'Have I ever made a good decision in my life', I only need to look at Miss Wiggles and know that I have. She is an utter joy to have as a pet. She is very independent and she never complains. She eats like a horse, is not fussy with her food, purrs like a steam train with a busted piston, and doesn't mind a bath. She can swim quite well, and is mesmerized by sweet smelling flowers and herbs. 

During her younger years Miss Wiggles stabilized her gait - she walks both side right, both sides left, and manages to have a quite a 'wiggle in her walk'. Her tail is like a rudder and a strong as a ship rope. She has what I call 'satellite delay' - a 3 second gap between responding to things such as her name, or seeing a bird go past, getting up when she's called, anything which needs her attention. She has taught me gracefully the art of patience and observation. 

As she got older she did manage the stairs - one bunny jump at a time going up, and more of a side slide to get back down. She did manage to jump up onto things things such as low coffee tables and the couch, but when she reached about the age of 8 it was time for ramps and pickups - she could no longer manage the height.

At around 10 years old she started to slow down a bit. Days laying around in the sunroom with the wander off to the food bowl and back to sleep. She still kept up her laps up and down the hallway though.

Up until the past year she has always used her kitty litter tray, but now, she cannot. She has a place on a tiled floor where she prefers to go, and that's OK with me - I have the mop and bucket and clean up after her, and she is like clockwork, and after this long I know her routine.

Some things I learnt about my CH cat was 
1) never to wake her up with a loud 'hello' or with a good ol' belly rub. These things frightened the bejeezus out of her and she would get cranky or even start to tremor.
2)When she is dreaming and 'walking' in her sleep - she walks like a normal cat. 
3)When she's relaxing her eyes maybe open, but she's actually asleep.
4)She was very easy to train as a youngster to do things my other cat would not do.
5)She would often think she was doing a fine job cleaning herself but usually the floor where she had been laying was spotless.
6)She has always been pleasant and friendly with other animals - even dogs (under supervision always).

There is so much more I could say about her, but now she is in her 'pensioner' years, and has almost slowed to a halt.
Just this week her legs aren't as coordinated as they used to be and for many years she is walking on her toes at the front and the flat of her legs at the behind. Tonight there is no walking at all. She is sleeping 20 hours a day and just wakes for food and potty break. Her tremors are a little more like spasms now, and she gets a regular massage to try and keep them at bay. She has one tooth left and although most of her life she has taken her food from her bowl and eaten off the floor, its getting to the stage where its all over the kitchen now and will soon be the lounge room.

Tonight she is sitting on her pillow and has had to be spoon fed for the first time. She hates it. She cant get to her bowl as her balance has gone. And any attempts at eating see her lying on her side with half her head in the bowl. I promised her tomorrow I would look for a walker for her, and if I cant find one I'll make one for her. I know how much she hates being immobile - she not happy at the moment with not being able to move under her own steam. I have placed some baby nappies under her as she cant go her toilet spot - I swear that look she is giving me is about indignation and embarrassment. Poor baby girl.
She still has all her marbles, and her kidneys and liver and good.  She still has any years ahead and this is now a time of adjustment and finding more new ways to deal with things as we both come to them. This is the start of making her twilight years as comfrtable and as easy as can be.

But I did have a good talk to her for an half an hour as I lay beside her as she rested, and think we came to some good conclusions and something to motivate her into the future...  - she seemed a bit more responsive when I said that "she'll have to get back on her feet in 6 months time - she'll be 18, and her and 'Chicken' can finally & legally go to the pub on their own" ;)
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Thank-you for reading Miss Wiggles story.
Blessings to all CH cats and their wonderful owners!
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