If all this COVID-19 pandemic, presidential impeachment and congressional riot stuff is getting you down, Donna Goodenough has an idea for injecting some positivity into your life.
The owner of Campbell RiverB次元官网网址檚 Kalmar Cat Hotel suggests adopting a cat with a disability. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what sheB次元官网网址檚 done and the experience has been overwhelmingly positive.
B次元官网网址淎ll my cats are special needs and I know from experience, they give love in a different way,B次元官网网址� Goodenough said. B次元官网网址淎nd itB次元官网网址檚 very rewarding. And I would love for people to search their heart and see if they donB次元官网网址檛 have a little extra love for the special needs cats that probably no one else would want.B次元官网网址�
Two kittens that Goodenough recently adopted suffer from cerebellar hypoplasia, also known as wobbly cats syndrome, a neurological disorder resulting from interrupted development of the brain leading to uncoordinated movement. The symptoms include problems walking, running, jumping or even locating items around them and the severity can vary widely.
B次元官网网址淭heir mind cannot control any of these wild movements that they make,B次元官网网址� Goodenough said. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e just a rodeo!B次元官网网址�
When Goodenough calls her cats Poppy and Lilly to their food bowls the two seven-month-old kittens come a-running just like any kitten. But, sadly, their condition makes the mad dash to the bowl a jumble of paws and legs flailing in uncoordinated jerks, stumbles and crashes. ItB次元官网网址檚 amusing and their enthusiasm is cute but itB次元官网网址檚 a little bit sad too.
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With the cats that Goodenough has adopted with their condition, on a scale of 1-10, one of them is a two or three while the other is a nine, Goodenough said.
So, when theyB次元官网网址檙e called to dinner, itB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渁ll bets are off,B次元官网网址� Goodenough said. B次元官网网址淪tand back! The bulls have been let out of the corral,B次元官网网址� she says drawing allusions to the scene in Pamplona, Spain with the .
Usually, when kittens are born with this condition theyB次元官网网址檙e often put down or abandoned but Goodenough wants people to look beyond their disability. She said her vet did express to her his concerns about their condition.
B次元官网网址楬e asked me if I thought she had a good quality of life,B次元官网网址� Goodenough said. And I gotta tell youB次元官网网址 think they do. You should see these girls play! Oh my goodness, give them a toy and they just go bananas!B次元官网网址�
The cats are born with their condition and have never known anything different. Goodenough agrees that if they had suffered an injury like a broken back or something that would cripple them for the rest of their life, that would perhaps be different.
B次元官网网址淭hat would be something that I would have to consider further,B次元官网网址� Goodenough said. B次元官网网址淏ut I can tell you for a fact, theyB次元官网网址檙e happy. And theyB次元官网网址檙e not in pain, except when they fall down and bang their head. Poppy does a lot.B次元官网网址�
But Goodenough has other disabled cats, in fact, she has another cat that has the same condition that she got prior to the two new kittens. Goodenough grades, Zoe, the older catB次元官网网址檚 condition at a two or three.
Goodenough runs the Kalmar Cat Hotel in which she boards cats but she also has six cats of her own. She put the word out that she is willing to adopt disabled cats.
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B次元官网网址淚 have been asking all my friends if they hear about any kind of a disability, I will take that cat. I just had the urge for another disabled. I have a soft spot for the ones that might be overlooked at adoption times,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚n my opinion, they give so much more than a happy cat, you know, thatB次元官网网址檚 just fine in every way. These need a little help. And it just enriches my life.B次元官网网址�
Poppy and Lilly were acquired from a rescue organization in Victoria, . Goodenough had put the call out for special needs cats and a girlfriend in Mill Bay put her in touch with Pamela Saddler at Broken Promises.
She was thrilled to know that Goodenough already had experience with CH (cerebellar hypoplasia) cats because nobody had wanted to take these cats. Because Goodenough doesnB次元官网网址檛 drive, Saddler delivered the cat to her door. Goodenough has had them for two months now and she says they are doing well.
The biggest change Goodenough had to do to her house to accommodate the new arrivals was to their potty area. Because they are unable to get into a litter box B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渢heyB次元官网网址檒l just fall outB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� she uses a plastic liner that usually goes in the bottom of a dog crate and puts newspaper on it. The cats have been trained to go on newspaper, jut like a puppy, and there are B次元官网网址減ee padsB次元官网网址� on top of the newspaper and then more newspaper. She needs a lot of newspaper and gets a lot of it donated by the Campbell River Mirror.
B次元官网网址淭hey know to go there and for the most part, they can make it there. They will fall down and if I can get to them in time, IB次元官网网址檒l hold them. So they donB次元官网网址檛 fall down in the pee.B次元官网网址�
So, obviously bathroom time is when the real commitment to the cats comes into play.
B次元官网网址淧oppyB次元官网网址檚 real good and sheB次元官网网址檚 pretty easy, although she will fall over backwards. ItB次元官网网址檚 something she canB次元官网网址檛 help and Lilly, on the other hand, if I hear her going stepping on the papers, I will run in and grab her because she just has no control.B次元官网网址�
But Goodenough, whose whole life is dedicated to cats, and has organized her house again to accommodate the newcomers, she would have it no other way.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e both just adorable,B次元官网网址� she said.
So, if youB次元官网网址檙e looking for something to lift you out of the doldrums, consider giving an animal with a disability a home. Donna Goodenough can testify to the satisfaction it will bring you.
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