I recently had the pleasure of chatting with a Kritter Kondo Deluxe customer named Virginia. One of the most rewarding aspects of Kritter Kommunity is hearing about other wonderful animals and how much people love their pets. Virginia and I chatted about her beloved Jeffrey kitty. His story reminded me so much of the stories from the adopted pets in the blogosphere; a "who saved who" 'tail' of a couple adopting a furbaby, taking care of him, nursing him to good health. The love and happiness Jeffrey has brought to this couple's life is reflected in a follow up email Virginia sent me which documents Jeffrey and his life to date. I thought I would post it so you could also meet Jeffrey and leave him a nice big shout out!
Purrs and Wags
Lisa, Finnegan and Abigail
1 – 21 – 2011
Jeffrey
What is more fun than a new kitten? We adopted our kitten the day after Thanksgiving. I had called the Humane Society earlier and told them we were looking for a black kitten. They told me they had one and I went down to look at him. His name was Cadabra. He was cute but was a long hair. We prefer a short hair. They called later to tell me they had two short haired black kittens at a different location. Paul and I went to look at them the day before Thanksgiving. These cats had been rescued from a lady who had 76 cats. Jeffrey was already named Jeff. He was one of a litter of three and of the two that were black he was the smallest. He was also sick with an upper respiratory problem. Paul and I talked it over and Paul told me I could go pick him up on Friday. That is what I did and he was sent home with medicine and an appointment was made with a vet to check him the next day. After doing that we came home with several medicines. Jeffrey would only eat if we thinned his food with water and gave it to him in a syringe. Paul and I worked very hard trying to care for him. He didn’t feel well enough to play. He struggled just to breathe and so rested and slept a lot.
We were at home for Christmas because we had our kitchen remodeled. Jeffrey felt better that day and wanted to play. He really made Christmas a joy for us. He also had a good day New Year’s Day. It just worked out that way.
June and Beth came up right before Christmas. We got a breathing treatment machine and medicine for it while they were here. Beth helped us get that set up and gave him his first treatment. The next day she showed me how to do it. He’s had several more since that time. Grant and June came up after Christmas. Then just this week Andrea came for a visit so all of our family has seen him. He is better now and not on so much medicine. He still has trouble breathing. He has to go to the vet frequently and they have been so helpful and caring.
Jeffrey was called that by one of his vets and I liked that better than just Jeff. Beth and Garrett chose Coal for his name so that is his middle name. He tried to make friends with our 14 year old girl cat, Trashy. She just hisses at him and sometimes runs away and/or thumps him on his head. He likes to play a little more all the time. Paul and I enjoy watching him very much.
I try to take pictures of him but a black kitten is hard to photograph.
He has an unusual look to him, big ears, pointed triangle shaped head and turned up nose. His eyes turn up on the outside. His body and legs & tail are long. I think he has the longest tail I’ve ever seen on a cat. After a time his fur began to have white or gray hairs mixed in with the black.
His meow is very soft. He rests on a towel in front of the refrigerator where the heat blows out. Paul made him a cardboard house and put his vaporizer in it. He sleeps in it too. Paul likes to hold him and sometimes he sleeps a long time in his lap wrapped in a fuzzy throw.
We are trying to change him from eating cat food that is called “Critical Care” to the regular Kitten food. He doesn’t like it as well.
He has several nicknames. Paul calls him Devil and Snort. I call him Hottentot and Little Man. He weighed .9 of a pound when we got him and now weighs 1.65.
2 – 21 – 2011
Jeffrey now weighs 2.40. He still has wheezing when he breathes and has congestion in his nose. He just finished another round of antibiotics. I can’t see that they have helped. He drinks a little water now. Paul is trying to mix his Critical Care food with regular food. He likes to run and play. He was climbing up Paul’s jeans and shirt all the way to his shoulder. We had his nails clipped so he’s not able to do that now.
3 – 13 – 2011
Jeffrey is about the same. He is eating big boy food now. Totally bypassed the Kitten Food. We have changed his neutering appointment several times. It is scheduled for April 20th. He had his nails clipped again and the Dr. said we could give him breathing treatments every day with saline solution. He also said that Jeffrey’s respiratory problem has stunted his growth. He still likes to chase Trashy. She tolerates him better but doesn’t want to be friends. He likes to play outside but sometimes runs off and we have to go get him.
We didn’t realize that we needed a kitten. I thought that Trashy would be our last pet. Just shows how much I know!! Not much!!
LOOK AT JEFFREY ONE YEAR LATER
TO DATE
Jeffrey has been doing great, living a happy healthy life and is now the proud owner of a Kritter Kondo Deluxe.
