Approximate delivery day for this mama kitty?

sarthur2 said:

She may not have gotten enough taurine when she was younger. It is vital to healthy neurological development.

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That would figure, along with her really tiny stature.  

I hope she is able to blossom now with all the space, love and care she will have in her new home, and yes - when the time is right be able to move on to some other new home where she can be treasured and made to feel as special as she deserves.   Fingers crossed for her and hoping your vet thinks she is in reasonable shape and not pregnant when you are able to take her along for her check-up @sweetlynn86.     

Is she still eating a lot? She must think all her Christmases have come at the same time.

What do you mean when you say she seems "slow" mentally? She learned to use a litterbox safely, and she adjusted to understanding that she is safe rather quickly, right...? Isn't that a hopeful sign?

My Tootsie was also tiny, about Chanel's size. Could be her twin in looks as well. My brother called her "the idiot cat". She had severe issues keeping food down and was sadly fed taurine free food (this was the 80s and for a short time taurine was not supplemented). And yet she was extremely sweet, didn't run from screaming kids but towards them, learned to fetch simply by watching another cat fetch. She was a genius. Any cat who survived what Chanel did must be smart, in my book. I don't think dumb would survive what she did.

It's hard to describe her demeanor in words without you seeing her. She has a very unsteady walk and she doesn't use the facial communication that cats use. She doesn't squint her eyes when content for example. She has this wide eyed glare when she's content but a wide eyed glare usually signals anxiety or a challenge towards another animal. Her eyes are always very wide and she always seems a little bit confused. If she stares at something like she's concentrating, her head just kind of sways side to side and her eyes don't stay still. They bounce around a bit. She doesn't have the fluid movements you typically see in a cat. When she eats, she thrusts her tongue out of her mouth while trying to swallow. Even her swallowing is uncoordinated. She has good balance for the most part but she lacks depth perception. She puts her face into the water and Food because she misjudges the depth of the bowl. She will try to put her head into my hand but she misses by about 2-3 inches. She doesn't walk on the pads of her back feet but rather on her entire back haunch. She uses the bottom section of her leg as an extension of her foot which makes her walk unsteady. I had a mentally handicapped cat years ago that acted a lot like her. The vet said there wasn't anything they could do and as long as she was happy, let her be. My ex took her during our divorce but Chanel acts very similar. She knows how to use a litterbox. She likes people. She's not dumb by any means. She's just slow and it's probably a permanent side affect of her previous lifestyle. I'm willing to bet she's inbred and she probably carries some less than desirable traits seeing as she delivered multiple fatally physically deformed kittens.

Poor litle gal. She's doing the best she can. Not born to a fair lot in life makes it tough. Her curent healthy diet will help, but she's past the developmental stages where it really counted. She just needs love and safety at this point, which she's got. Bless her heart. I wish I could adopt her.

I'm not too concerned about her health right now. She seems to be okay and she's very happy. She loooooves being loved on and just being touched draws the loudest purr out of her. As long as she's happy im happy. It will just take a very special home for her to leave her because I don't want her to end up being the brunt of cruel jokes. For example, a family with a kid who might thinks it's hilarious to trick her and make her dunk her face in the water bowl so his friends can get a good laugh. She's also oober submissive. I'm afraid if someone did abuse her, she wouldn't defend herself.

Do you think your cats will treat her kindly?

Absolutely. My cats love when new kitties come home. So do our dogs. Nutty will pout for a few days but she's never mean. Just spoiled. Our dogs are cat lovers as well. Our schnauzer brings home the neighbor cats. [emoji]128514[/emoji] aaannnnd our rats love cats too. The cats are all very interested in her already. The scent of her on us makes them purr. We had to take shelter in the basement today during a tornado and some damaging storms. I put Chanel in a pet carrier and took her down. All our adult cats made it their mission to get a better look. Crazy animals. Here's a picture of our storm today. It was terrifyingly beautiful.

Wow!  That looks surreal.  Hope your property is ok.

That is incredible! Can't believe you had the presence of mind to photograph the storm while herding everyone to the basement to safety. Awesome pictures!

We got hit with similar weather yesterday.
Very nice pictures!

Stunning photographs, I wouldn't have the nerve to stand taking photos, I'd off down that basement fast as I could with gathering up all who needed to be safe.  I don't think my nerves would hold up living where there were storms like that but I know many do and have no choice.  It looks amazing though.

What you describe does sound like neurological symptoms which is very sad for Chanel, but she has been tough to survive so far and now she has a loving home to settle in her life couldn't be any better.  She sounds adorable so as word gets around about what you are doing I wouldn't be at all surprised if someone kind came to offer her another safe and loving place to spend her days.  What a gift you have given this little soul. 

sweetlynn86 said:

Absolutely. My cats love when new kitties come home. So do our dogs. Nutty will pout for a few days but she's never mean. Just spoiled. Our dogs are cat lovers as well. Our schnauzer brings home the neighbor cats. [emoji]128514[/emoji] aaannnnd our rats love cats too. The cats are all very interested in her already. The scent of her on us makes them purr. We had to take shelter in the basement today during a tornado and some damaging storms. I put Chanel in a pet carrier and took her down. All our adult cats made it their mission to get a better look. Crazy animals.


 

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There is such a beauty in this your description, shining even  stronger than these stunning pics...  I swear,  I have tears flowing now. Tears of happiness.   Such a harmony...

What  does the proverb says, "Such master, such servant", coming true here, I think  My guess is its you and your family creating such an atmosphere in your home it influences strongly not only cats, but also the family dog, AND rats.  If the rats love the cats, it must mean your family cats are great pals with the rats too...

Its just a sword remade into a plow lacking, and we would have a true pic of the coming Paradise, already here and now...

HOW are you doing this??

StefanZ I'm not sure how it happens the way it does. I used to think we were just really lucky but Polka was a feral cat when we brought her in. We usually keep our rats on the ground because they enjoy being around our cats and dogs but I put them up inaccessible when polka came, considering rats were probably a staple in her diet. She was so interested in them though so I introduced them. She wanted to clean their ears but didn't show any aggression towards them so they're back on the floor. She loves them. We have this expectation that all our animals are going to get along and so far, they have.

As for the pictures, only 1 is mine. The one with the rocks is one I took from my neighbors yard. The other one a friend of mine got and I thought it was pretty awesome.

Chanel goes to the vet at 3pm today to get a checkup and some tests done. Hoping everything comes back good for her.

This will be interesting to hear about later. I'm hoping it's a good report!

Well, we took her in for her appointment. They did a fecal exam and is now being treated for worms. They did an ear exam and got treated for ear mites. They tested for leukemia and it is NEGATIVE!! pretty excited about that. Vet said she is pretty far along in pregnancy with what he thinks is 2-3 kittens. I asked if it would be better for her if we did an abort/spay and he said if we want to do that, we can but from a health perspective, birth and nursing will be safe for her. She's eating well and he said her weight will increase now with a good diet. It appears that she has an allergy to fleas which is why her hair is so spotty and short. She's chewed her hair where fleas were biting but as the scabs heal, her hair will grow back. Fleas seem to be gone. Couldn't find fleas or flea dirt on her anywhere! He said whenever we want to introduce her to our animals, it's safe to do so. We brought her home and opened the cat carrier in the living room where polka was laid out nursing her babies. I was a little nervous about how their meeting would go so I introduced them first. Chanel slowly crept out of the cage and polka didn't take her eyes off of her but as Chanel wandered into range of polkas reach, polka reached her paw out and touched her. They like each other! The dogs love Chanel and the kittens all took to her immediately. Chanel was pretty indifferent and was more interested in exploring the house. She's now back in her room. When she tried to hide away, I figured she'd had enough excitement and put her in her safe place so she could recuperate. All in all, she's great and will make someone really happy in the future.

It is shocking to think of this tiny cat being pregnant, and her system drained by parasites.  She must be so much more comfortably now the fleas have been removed, and once clear of worms she will be transformed.  What a difficult life she has had until now, and yet she sounds such a loving creature.  She must have been exhausted after the vet visit and then getting out to explore and meeting the rest of your family! The atmosphere in your home is definitely something special!  You have a gift and you are using it with wonderful effect.  

How are Polka and the kittens doing?  I am imagining those kittens getting huge by now.  LoL.  And wrecking your house.         

Polka is doing so good! Her kittens are getting really big but definitely not destructive. We have a lot of cat furniture so they have plenty of stuff to keep them from getting bored. I can't believe the kittens will be leaving in 1-2 weeks. :-( I'm so relieved that Chanel is okay though and now we can look forward to healthy babies. This will be one of the perks I look forward to.

Really happy to hear about the vet visit. Yay no Fel leuk!!!

Could Chanel have something like cerebral palsy? There's another term for it for cats. Good grief, her own mama cat must have been starved, too. [emoji]128545[/emoji] Have you been able to file a report with authorities? Remember you can try the health department as well.

Wow on those pictures!! Really glad your house is ok!!!!