Thursday, November 13, 2008

Day 4 with Enya and Thomas

I've noticed Enya, like many PEOPLE with a handicap, have good days and bad days. Tuesday night I was a little concerned about our little CH wobbly kitten. She seemed less active, although even on a good day her "active" is NOTHING compared to Thomas, her brother - who has no signs of CH. Thomas bounces around the house like a tazmanian devil! But Enya is more relaxed, layed back, mostly because she has to be since she can't walk - but I think it's her personality too. She loves to be held, she loves to just be loved.

But she does like to play too. Tuesday night, she seemed to just want to crawl into her "hut" which is a small cat crate with my husband's flannel. She is happiest there, she purrs just entering it. She seemed weaker Tuesday night and I was worried about her fluids. She does NOT like to drink. Eat - YES, agressively and fast! She loves to shove it all in like she is at closing time at an all you can eat buffet. I have to slow her down when she eats in fear she will choke because I honestly think she inhales and doesn't chew. But drinking - no.

Night one I bought a guinea pig / rabbit water bottle thinking it would be easier since her head bobs, and it causes her head to dunk into a normal bowl of water. Shallow dishes weren't much better. She wouldn't have anything to do with the new bottle either. Thomas, loves the rabbit water bottle but he also drinks out of the normal cat bowl and even the dog bowl - he drinks all the time. So I thought maybe her listlessness was that.

I learned how to "trick" her into drinking. Since she loves food so much - I used that as a ploy to get water into her. I filled a shallow dish with water, then dropped some dry cat food in it. It resembled bobbing for apples. Every bite she went in for, she got a gulp of water. It worked!!! And then the dry cat food soaked up even more water, and she ate it - not realizing she was getting a LOT of water in those bites. Hopefully that is enough to sustain her, but I will check with the vet. I could use a dropper, but I really want a comfortable way for her to get her own fluids when she feels she needs it, and for now this seems to be the best way.

Her "pee pee" breaks are more frequent. ANGEL of mine goes potty every time I put her in the cat box, and NEVER has an accident. It's a miracle really, she is so very smart to know to hold it until I get her in the morning and when I come home after work. I have yet to see an "accident", and I am SO grateful for that. I know a lot of other CH moms have to clean poop and sometimes have them wear diapers, and I am happy my only chore is to hold her while she goes the bathroom. The fact that she goes basically "on demand" is amazing to me. My other cats would never do that.

One morning I put her in the cat box, held her there a bit and let her sniff around - and NOTHING. I was discouraged thinking "oh boy the honeymoon is over" and that she would stop going to the bathroom this way. I went to get ready for work, came back down and found her across the room - she made it across the room - and was struggling on the ramp to the cat box trying SO hard to get up the ramp. She had to go, and she made her way all that ways so she wouldn't have an accident. All that work, and all the tumbling and getting back up she had to do just to get that far, just to make sure she went potty in her box - just made my eyes tear! What an angel. My smart, wonderful little angel.

Thomas is a brute of a boy. His face is even dirty like a boy! lol. He thinks he is a lion you know. He hides in the plant and pounces out on all fours! He is hysterical. My husband and I just laugh when he is playing. He is the funniest little man. He loves playing with our older cat Sprinter! And he does love playing with Enya, but for her - he is a little too rough.

More on the challenges and rewards of raising a CH kitten and her "normal" brother tomorrow.....

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