Tuesday, March 19, 2024
cats for adoption

Cats for Adoption: A Very Special Lucky Boy

white cat with gray spots
Lucky Boy says “hi!”

Lucky Boy is a sweet and lovable 10-month old kitty who is fine with children, other cats, and dogs. He loves to be held and snuggle and he’s very playful. His lovely white fur is only punctuated by two gray “eyebrows” way up on his forehead and most beautiful of all—he has one yellow eye and one blue eye! Truly a very special rescued kitty born to a neighborhood cat and rescued from the street on a rainy day as a very young kitten. He has a minor condition that just makes him more special—he was born with Cerebellar hypoplasia, or CH.

CH affects the cerebellum, a part of the brain responsible for fine motor skills and coordination. The condition begins with a kitten in utero, or while the mother cat is still pregnant, usually because the unvaccinated mother cat was exposed to the Panleukopenia virus (feline distemper) while pregnant.

The condition is not contagious and not progressive, meaning it doesn’t get worse with age. A cat with moderate CH like Lucky Boy can get around on his own, but will frequently lose his balance and have noticeable head tremors, and walk with his legs splayed widely apart. It doesn’t affect any daily activities like eating or drinking or ability to use the litterbox. It doesn’t require any special treatments or special diets, nor does it affect the function of any organs or shorten the cat’s lifespan in any way.

white cat with gray spots
Lucky Boy ready to play.

Lucky Boy was found as a tiny kitten in June 2013, lying on the street on a rainy day, soaking wet. Children picked him up and took him to their grandmother and it took a couple of days for him to recover, and they also noticed that he couldn’t walk too well but was an otherwise completely normal young kitten. It turns out Lucky Boy was a kitten from a neighbor’s cat who was living in the garage. In August the woman contacted a rescuer who suggested he had a mild case of CH but he was doing very well and seemed to be in decent condition. She wanted to get him to a vet to get some X-rays done to see if it was possibly due to an injury. It turned out that CH was the diagnosis and he was eventually neutered and vaccinated.

Now his rescuer, who lives on disability and has other pets, needs to give him up. Her landlady will not tolerate Lucky Boy and has given her only days to find another home. She is heartbroken but can’t afford to lose her apartment.

Lucky Boy can get around but he does flop, and he uses the litter box but has missed a few times because he couldn’t get there in time. A home without stairs would be preferable, and all the amenities close at hand.

He has been receiving acupuncture treatments for his CH every seven to fourteen days since December 2013 by Dr. Michelle Elgersma, who offers to continue his treatments at no charge if he is fostered or adopted in the Pittsburgh area. You can see by her photo he is fantastic for his treatments.

cat getting acupuncture
He’s fine during his acupuncture treatments

If you can provide a home for Lucky Boy, even just a foster home while we continue looking for a permanent home, please contact Dr. Michelle Elgersma, or send me an email and I’ll put you in touch.


Now who else is looking for a home? Browse a few more rescued cats and kittens!

All photos courtesy the kittens’ foster homes.

RECENTLY FEATURED:

We’ve Been Waiting!

tabby cat fostercat
Meet Wallace!

Rocky is Ready, and Salem and Sabrina, Start Collecting Black Cats!

big black cat
“Rocky” is ready to go home with you!

City Kitty and Skyler, and More from Kopy Kat Sanctuary

tabby cat
City Kitty!

Meet Spike and a Very Special Person

woman wth cat
Spike has something to say about this!


Can’t adopt? Foster! Can’t foster? Donate or volunteer.

There are so many ways you can help cats who need homes and care. You may not have room to adopt another cat, but can foster a cat or kitten for a few weeks. If not that, you can volunteer at a shelter or with a rescue, or donate. You do this because you love your cat, and by doing so you help all cats. No matter which of these actions you take, you help to save a life, and make life better for all cats.

  • Adopt one of the cats I’ve posted here, or from any shelter or rescue near you, or from Petfinder, to open up a space for another cat to be rescued and fostered.
  • Offer to foster cats or kittens for a shelter or rescue near you.
  • Volunteer at a shelter or rescue.
  • Find a group of volunteers who work with homeless cats and help them with their efforts.
  • Donate to a shelter or rescue near you.

If you can foster kittens or adults cats to help prepare them for a forever home, please run to your nearest shelter and find a cat who needs you! Anyone can help with this effort at any level, even if all you do is donate to a shelter or rescue so they can help to pay for the food or medications needed for their foster, or the spay/neuter/veterinary care during a clinic.

Need to know more? Read Fostering for Your Shelter and Fostering Saves Lives


2014 Homeless Cat Management Team Clinics

FAST TRACK CLINICS
($30 PER FERAL – See below for other costs)
April 13• May 15
June 15 Father’s Day – free neuters – get those daddy cats too!

FREE CLINICS
May 4 – in memory of Milton Lendl

Other spay/neuter and low-cost veterinary options

Please check my Shelters, Assistance, Spay/Neuter page for opportunities in Pittsburgh and beyond.


All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

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