Oliver Kitteh, Chloe, and Second Chances

I forgot I had an unposted followup Oliver post. For those who didn't see the earlier ones...

One of my readers-come-friends (herein named Ms. Brownlow after Oliver Twist's benefactor) took in a pregnant feral cat who, the last time she was pregnant, gave birth to all dead babies because she has distemper. Chez Brownlow, Chloe gave birth to two little ones, one of whom seemed healthy but soon died; the second of whom didn't have working back legs and showed no interest in life and living.

But he did live!

And through his adventurous spirit, and the help of his kitty and human mommies, became the walking, running, jumping big boy you see below.

If you want to read the Story of Oliver Kitteh, as told to me in emails, they're here: Chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen.

One of the main points Ms. Brownlow wants to impress upon people is that if a kitty with cerebellar hypoplasia ever crosses your path, don't count them out as a great adoptee. Like any animal with a loving family, they can lead full and fun lives. 

And now, a final posting by Ms. Brownlow about Oliver teh Cat (Minion's brother from another mother.) And I promise to post more pictures of Ollie and Chloe in the future.

Oliver had tremors with a lot of head shaking, and he lurched and fell to the side sometimes. But he didn't fall so much as some CH kitties, probably because his legs were splayed out, and his belly was flat on the ground, giving him a very wide base and a lot more stability than he would have had otherwise.

 

CH kitties do adapt and manage better over time. I think, in Oliver's case, because he was born indoors and had very early intervention, he managed to have brain growth that he might not have had otherwise.  We have no way to know that for a fact, of course, but people with brain injuries form new pathways with physical therapy and can sometimes recover so well you'd never know that parts of their brain they used before had been completely destroyed.

I think Oliver had a lot of brain growth to compensate for the bits that didn't develop when they should have. Babies' brains grow a lot and I think Oliver just got lucky and the things around the apartment, and his mother's play and attention, helped him develop in such a way as to make up for his deficit. You can not tell any more that he was a CH kitty.

I think that's Oliver's personal miracle. I've had other animals who've had personal miracles. Remember your blog about how the changes in rescued animals' lives can serve as a reminder that ours can as well?

"You done good son."

Well, I've sometimes thought that, in addition to these little animals being important enough in their own right to warrant a miracle, it can also serve to remind us that we're not too insignificant to matter, that every prayer can be answered, that every one of us matters and deserves good things. And another chance.
 

 

       

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Thirteen: Of the happy life Oliver led from hereon out

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve.

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for. Next week I'll post some more pics and talk a bit about CH kitties. But for now... the reveal!

It's exhausting having to listen to all those stories about Oliver.

This is Oliver at five months. See how well he's walking now?

 During those few months between the time Oliver was three weeks old and about four months old, I spent a fair bit of time placing him on his back on my lap and then moving his little back legs straight up and down.

Because he was a busy little toddler and then a busy little person he didn't have a lot of time for this (I love that pretty much as soon as toddlers can speak sentences they seem to learn to say 'not now, I'm busy').

Also, I felt kind of self-conscious doing it, figuring anyone would think me mad if they saw me. But I felt so bad for Chloe and all she'd gone through. I knew Oliver was happy and he'd be fine so long as he had a home, even if he couldn't really get around. Still, I wanted to make things as good for him as I could. So I'd pick him up and work his little legs up and down for a few minutes once of twice a day. At first it was hard to get them into the right position; they really just wanted to move back and forth along his sides. But before long it began to get easier to get them to pump up and down. His cute little kitten legs.

When the vet saw him to neuter him at six months, even though she'd seen him a few times in his earliest months, she was amazed at the change in him. Delighted. 'Turned around 180 degrees,' she said.

Moth hunting, Christmas 2010, Oliver is 6 months old

 

  

"I'm glad your legs work, but can I have a turn already?!"

      

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Twelve: Which contains the substance of Oliver's Back Leg Rehabilitation

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. ten and eleven.

The Serious Bidness of straightening out Oliver's back legs continues!

I placed the box in the living room, along a path he used when going from the bedroom, and right in front of a new play area we were putting together. He was beginning to travel quickly enough that he wanted to play games with Chloe and have her chase him.

At this point, Oliver was about two and a half months old and he and Chloe were having a lot of racing games. I decided to take the long green scratching post and the wonderful box and that green suede sleeping box I'd gotten Oliver and make him a sort of 'track' to run through.

My idea here, again, was that I wanted to force him to be using his back leg closer together as he made his way around the apartment. He was already improving.  His belly was a little bit further off the ground, he was holding his legs at a slightly different angle, still out to the sides but no longer entirely flat on the ground.  It was such a subtle difference that the vet wasn't certain I knew what I was talking about when I said he was improving.  He really was though.

 Pictured here: The fabric bolts that Ms. Brownlow 

had to keep rolled up because Oliver was learning to climb on them.

Also, the lovely Chloe.

Anyway, my idea with this 'track' was that Oliver could run along the scratching post, or along the top of the box, or through the box or the suede box.  The suede box was the only one where he could spread his legs to the sides, but he'd be slowed down going through the circles on the ends and it was just slower to travel through.  My hope was that he would want to go one of the other ways. And, as he and Chloe were playing these chasing games throughout the day, he would get a lot of practice making speed with his little legs closer to his body.  Of course, I had no idea quite how he was going
to do that, but it seemed worth a try.

Oh, boy, was it.  At first he opted for traveling along the tops of the box and the scratching post.  The post was easier because the corrugated cardboard gave him the best traction.  He had a bit of a balance challange on the box.  Both let him have his legs out to the sides a bit, but because the pieces were all close together, they made 'walls' so he couldn't just let his legs hang over the sides as he'd done previously.

Once he got even better at running this track, and as he got faster and more impressed with himself, he began to run through the box.  And he got really good at it.  And he began standing much more on his feet.

Of course, we also played with toys like the goldfish on a stick. You can see here how much he's still keeping his legs out to the sides.  You may be able to tell he's holding himself up a little bit higher on his back legs.

And another view showing his improvement.  He was definitely standing up better, not all the time but increasingly frequently.

Alright my buddies... next week is The Big Reveal!

       

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Eleven : Treats of Oliver's new rehabilitation games

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten.

I think the people are itching to get to Modern Day Oliver pics. So I'll make these posts a bit longer and squish in more delicious kittenatude! We're just getting to the time when he started to work on his back legs...

Once he was able to regularly make it into the living room he discovered a favorite and universal kitten game: Lying in wait and then pouncing when someone went by. In Oliver's case, the 'lying in wait' was literal.

Cutest. Picture. Evah.

He could scoot around underneath a low chair while lying on his back by grabbing onto the fabric
underside.  He could watch all the comings and goings while remaining well hidden.  Then he could push himself out from underneath, from any of the sides, and quickly grab an ankle or a leg, then quickly scoot back underneath, completely out of anyone's reach. His favorite for a long time.  And it gave his little arms, and later his legs as well, a very good workout.

 

Here he is at almost 8 weeks. He's still spending a lot of time with the little structure I got from
PetCo.  He was climbing in through the windows and trying to climb up onto the top.

Can you see Oliver's paws sticking out of the end of this box?

That's the box a long scratching post came in. At this time, even though Oliver was able to cover much more ground, and was speeding up a lot, he still kept his back legs completely splayed out to the sides and his little belly stayed on the ground.

I thought if I could get him to use the box for crawling through he would be forced to put his back legs under him more, or at least work out some way to get around with his legs closer to his body.  I thought it was worth a try.  First, of course, I had to get him want to go into the box and go through it.
No problem there.  All I had to do was put it down in front of him and make sure the flaps at each end were open enough for him to get the idea that it would be interesting to explore all the way inside and through.  He loved it immediately.

Smart thinking Ms. Brownlow! And what cat can resist an empty box? It's in the DNA!

      

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Ten : Being an account of Oliver's explorations and hidey holes

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and nine.

Without much ado, here's more of our pint sized hero!

Even before Oliver could properly stand he began to cover large distances.

Here he's made it into the next room and discovered a mirror leaning
against a closet door.

As you can see, he was getting quite good at holding his front up with
his front legs, and he was able to hold his head up more steadily and
for longer, but his hind legs remained splayed out to the sides and
his belly stayed very close to the ground.

Still he was getting better and better at getting around.

Somehow he figured out he could take the little blanket from the collapsible hut...

and bring it over to the other side of the
room, then place it between a couple of things I'd put together for
his play area.

He'd made himself a new sleeping space.

Here you can see he's resting his head on the base of his kitten tree.

See, he's putting a lot of thought into these things he's doing.  And
he's very adaptable. Cats generally are.

   

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Nine: In which our hero learns to hunt.

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight.


And so the days passed, each one presenting Oliver with exciting new challenges to overcome...


This was a great purchase.

I got it because he'd been missing those reflexes in his front legs.
I wanted to get him to try to reach things and have to focus his
movements to get as much control as possible.  I was guessing that if
he had to make very deliberate movements it might help work whatever
was deficient.  I was guessing, but I thought just working on walking
wouldn't cover everything he was needing to work and I wanted him to
make very focused motions with his paws.

This toy worked really well.  He was quickly interested in getting
things out through the holes.  And he could climb/pull himself across
the top, and he could sort of stand on his back legs if he wanted to
do that.  He played with it a lot.

Chloe liked it too and she still plays with it.  It took her a long
time to get toys, but once she did, she really liked them.

And this is just to remind you...

what a beautiful little boy kitty he was during all this.

   

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Eight: Some new toys are introduced to intelligent reader, connected with whom various pleasant matters are related

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Eight

Some new toys are introduced to intelligent reader, connected with whom various pleasant matters are related.

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four, five, six and seven.

More fantastic ideas by Ms Brownlow to help Oliver get his groove on!

This is Oliver at about 4 1/2 weeks.
I'd moved everything to another corner of the bedroom and put together
a little play area for him.

I got a kitten tree.  Tiny because at that point it seemed an
ambitious idea that he might even climb something this big: it's the
smallest kitten tree I could find.

I got some scratching pads, yoga bricks, aerobic steps, the ktten
tree, the little structure he'd liked so much in the other corner of
the room, and put them all together so that he could climb on some and
aspire to get from them to the others.  They were all different
textures and heights and degrees of difficulty.

And I put his towel mountain there as well.  Here he is sleeping on
his towel mountain.  What can I say? he really loved it.

I love Towel Mountain.

He also liked climbing up onto the scratching pads. Sometimes he didn't travel very far before it was time for another nap.

He looks like a puppet with his strings cut! Floppy.

 

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Seven: In which our hero climbs yet another mountain.

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Seven

In which our hero climbs yet another mountain.

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four, five and six.


Dear loyal friends of Oliver,

Please forgive my haphazard posting dates. Life isn't too busy, so I don't know what's going on. Maybe my brain is just off a bit. It happens, it happens.


It turns out I had another picture of him with his little tent!

Stretch Armstrong!

Chloe was the perfect mother for him. She was always nearby, but never hovered. She watched everything he did, but let him feel he had complete freedom.
I noticed though that whenever he was about to go somewhere she wouldn't be able to rescue him from if he needed help -- like under of behind somewhere she wouldn't fit -- she called out and called him back. So then he'd just alter course a little bit, spot something to the left or right that looked interesting, and be on his way.

Now for the exciting tale of: The Litter Box! 

He was partly doing normal kitten stuff, but he worked so hard it was really touching. And what he was trying to do was always so far out of his reach at first that I was amazed at the effort he put into it.

When he was just a little bit older I took him to the cat pan, just to show it to him. Really, I wanted him to see the litter right after Chloe used it to help him get the idea.
I realized the sides of the pan were high and planned to put some litter in the lid from a plastic storage bin and put it in the bedroom so it would be close to him.

Uh-uh. Oliver got it: litter pan, kitty pee-place. Very soon after I noticed he was in the bathroom near the cat pan. I watched in amazement. He pulled himself up and inside. Then he immediately collapse, spread-eagle, all four legs, and fell soundly asleep. After a bit, he woke up, peed, climbed back out, and promptly fell sound asleep on the floor right next to the cat pan.

He slept for a very long time.
The next time he went to use the pan, it was easier for him. After that he never didn't go to the cat pan, even though at the time it was a long walk and still a hard climb.

Oh my days! One imagines he had to plan his pees way in advance. "Okay it takes about half an hour to get there, and an hour to get inside..."

      

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Six: Being a chapter full of new adventures and travails

 

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Six

Being a chapter full of new adventures and travails.

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four and five.

Dear readers, 

Last we left Oliver he had been introduced to the Petco structure, and climbing over the dowels. In this week's exciting installment, we see his little attempts to climb it!

I don't think he ever quite managed to do it, but it was worth a try, right?

Well, it was very worth a try, actually, because it helped strengthen
his back legs.  It was fabric, so he could use his little claws to
hold on, and he managed to stretch up his entire length, he just never
got any higher than that at this stage.  But it was still a
accomplishment and he was impressed with himself.  I think it sort of
counted as getting off the ground.

Cats climb, right?  Oliver worked on his climbing.

You can see little back leg all stretched out!

Notice how Mamma Chloe is coaching him.

I also got him this little collapsible hut, and it's another thing that got a lot of use.

But really I wanted you to see how eager he was to head out and
explore everything that was put in his immediate area.  And I wanted
you to see how he was using his little legs.

Moving from one place to another took him a very long time, but he was
determined to check everything out and find every way to use things
that he could.  And he got stronger every day.

"Check me out, Other Mommy! Rowr!"

I don't know about you, dear readers, but I thought about little Oliver this week (and BarbN's daughter) when faced with some seemingly entrenched problems. Just focus on one part, and work work work at it, til you pass out from exhaustion. That is what I reminded myself. (As opposed to the lessons I learn from my Haley, such as "If someone stands in your way, cut 'em. That's what claws are for." Or "If something's too hard to do, annoy your hue-mahn until they do it for you.")


     

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Five: Comprising further particulars of Oliver's physical therapy

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Five

Comprising further particulars of Oliver's physical therapy.

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three and four.

Dear Faithful Readers, thank-you for your patience in awaiting the next adventure of Oliver Kitteh. You shall be well rewarded by another exciting tale of fortitude, and another adorable picture.

I got this little structure at Petco. I thought Oliver might like it
because he liked 'climbing over' thingsand it's made with plastic dowels.

The picture shows Oliver 'climbing through' after climbing over his
towel mountain and down the other side into this little structure.  He
appears to be lying, and his is resting at the moment I snapped the
picture, but this is what he looked like walking.

And all this took a lot of time, a lot of effort, and lots and lots of
practice.  Whenever he wasn't sleeping, he was working at mastering
getting about.  I've never seen a kitten who worked so hard.

He slept very soundly in between his adventures, because he was
completely exhausted.  But he took advantage of everything given him
that gave him an opportunity to master a new ability.

You may be able to spot a small 'window' in this little structure.
It's an opening in the 'room' part of the structure to the left in the
picture, and the opening you can see is in the upper left corner of
the picture.  There was another opening opposite.  Once Oliver was
stronger [and bigger] he made it a point to master getting through the
window.  Once, he could, he made it a point for a few days to always
go through the window when going in or out of the little structure.

Oliver Kitteh: Hardest working kitton* in show business. I shall remember him this week whenever I face any daunting tasks.

________
* Kitton: Not a type-o. Pronounced: kee-tohn (silent "n"). My old roommate used to like proncouncing "kitten" as though it were a French word.


             

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Four: In which the hero climbs his first mountain.

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Four

In which the hero climbs his first mountain.

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Chapter one here.
Chapter two here.
Chapter three here.

In our last installment little Oliver recovered his lust for life, and conquered crawling over the rattan table base. By the way, Oliver is an older kitty now, these are stories that Ms Brownlow emailed me when I asked for examples of her kitty physical therapy. Little did I know how enthralling the story would be. Take it away Ms Brownlow!

Having successfully climbed over the rattan tablebase, I decided to
build him a towel mountain.   Because Oliver was having trouble
covering much distance horizontally, I thought it would be worth a
try.

I folded a couple of bathtowels into a soft little moutain with
sloping sides.  You can't really tell from the picture, but it was a
pretty steep climb and a few layers high.  This gave him something he
could climb up, with the terry loops giving him something to hold on
to, and he wouldn't have to be able to lift his body 'off' as he would
on the floor, but could just kind of hug it as he climbed.  Like his
own little rock wall, but made of white terry cloth instead.  Cuddly.

He noticed right away and immediately headed toward it.  Well, it was
right next to his sleeping spot, so for a regular kitty 'heading
toward it' would have been a couple of steps and the climb would have
been nothing.  The towel mountain might not even have been all that
interesting.

But Oliver loved it.  He worked hard to get to it and immediately set
about trying to climb it.  It obviously took a lot of effort, but my
little hero kitten gave it all he had.  And when he got to the 'top'
he collapsed, exhausted.

[Look he's collapsed! So cute!!]

Climbing it was hard work, but kittens aren't afraid of hard work, and
Oliver is a a full-fledged kitten, just a little bit challenged in
some ways.  (Which Chloe seemed to know but he didn't.)

Climbing the towel moutain helped him get a lot stronger.  And he
climbed it repeatedly.  Partly because he needed a lot of naps and
he'd decided he should be talking his naps there.  It became his new
sleeping space.   Or he wanted to keep climbing it and climbing it
wiped him out each time.  Either way, that was where he slept once I
put it there.

      

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Three: Oliver has a new lease on life and takes on the furnishings.

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Three 

Oliver has a new lease on life and takes on the furnishings.

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Chapter one here.
Chapter two here.


When we last left our pint sized hero the vet had just predicted he'd never walk, but little Oliver was finally taking an interest in the world around him...

When Oliver got back home, he had a whole new way of looking at the world and an interest in finding more new experiences.  He really was a kitten transformed.

I put him back in his little spot on the floor where Chloe [his mother] had been keeping him and she groomed him and fed him and groomed him some more. Then, after his nap he decided to look around.

Well, he still had a lot of trouble holding up his head, and he couldn't really get his chest up off the ground very well, and all his little legs moved like flippers, held straight out to the sides, but he did what he could.  He worked and he listened and he worked and he tried his best.

"I am... a beast. Rowr!"

This picture was taken less than 48 hours after he came back from the vet as Adventure Boy. The photo was taken right after he'd finally managed to get himself OVER the rattan ring at the base of the little table.  His 'spot' where he'd been living is the spot of floor directly to the left of the table.  It took him almost two entire days to master moving that far and the task
he set himself of climbing over the rattan was huge.  He worked and worked at it.

I don't know if you can tell, but that is one PROUD little kitty in that picture.  He felt so accomplished.  You could see his chest swell with pride.  And I was so very proud of him and so happy for him and I can't tell you how glad I am that I got that picture.

So ends the first installment of the story of Oliver's triumphant overcoming. And I am still so incredibly proud of him.  I think he's a marvel.


Dear Readers, do you begin to see why I must share the story of Oliver Kitteh? In the following weeks you'll see more of his triumphs, kookiness, and the physical therapy games Ms Brownlow and Chloe set up for him. For he is Puir Oliver no more, but...

Adventure Boy!

        

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter One: Treats of the place where Oliver was born, and of the circumstances attending his birth.

Through my last blogs I met a woman whose kitty stories I'm going to share with you over the next few Tuesdays. It's the story of Oliver, and his mother Chloe. I'll call my friend Ms Brownlow, after the kindly Dickens character Mr Brownlow, who took in Oliver Twist. What follows is a tale that begins with some sadness, but contains much kindness, love, overcoming, and happiness. Annnd cute kitteh photos.

Chapter One: Treats of the place where Oliver was born, and of the circumstances attending his birth. 

Chloe was a feral cat whom a few neighbors were feeding. (If she was ever a housecat, Chloe acts like a feral now.) Ms Brownlow could tell she'd given birth before and wanted to take her in so she wouldn't get pregnant again, but the landlady hated cats and didn't allow pets. Sure enough Chloe got pregnant again, and soon after all her kittens were discovered in a neighbor's yard--they hadn't lived, because Chloe had distemper. (If passed on to kittens at birth, 95% will die.) She'd even brought one of the dead kittens across to Mrs Brownlow's building to tell them what had happened (to get help?) giving the more sensitive neighbor a bit of an upset. Poor Chloe.  :'-(  Ms Brownlow believes she was only about a year old herself at this time.


When she was discovered pregnant for a third time:

"everyone was pretty traumatized by the story of the kittens and no one wanted to deal with the guilt of knowing that might well happen again, and pretty soon, too. 

So one night my landlady approached me and said if I could get the cat into my apartment it would be all right for me to keep her there.  The next day the computer system was down for hours at work.  I took an early lunch hour and rushed to PetCo where I bought a cat pan, dishes, some toys, as much stuff as I could carry.  That night I deposited those in my apartment, then rushed to the local supermarket for litter and food.  I was set. 

Early Saturday morning, about 6:00 AM, I went outside with a can of cat food and began looking for Chloe.  She came by soon after and I began talking to her and walking toward my building door and she followed.  Soon I was able to get her to follow me into the front door of the building. Every time she'd balk and head back outside I'd calmly and quietly follow her back outside, wait a few minutes, and then begin talking to her and coaxing her to follow me again.  Each time we got a little further.

The whole thing took about 4 and a half hours, but eventually she came into my apartment.  She was a little bit concerned that the door was closed and she couldn't get out again.  She probably already had a spot picked out to deliver so it had to be a scary situation for her; but I stayed quiet and calm and gave her a lot of space.  And resolved that I was not opening the door again until I had to leave for work on Monday morning.

"Holy mother of kittygod what have I done?!"

But Chloe is a smart and brave girl and knows how to make the best of things.  She decided my bed, the farthest point from the door, was the space she liked the most and that was where she spent most of her time, by the bedroom window.

She woke me, deliberately, to have me there when she had the kittens. Perhaps because of the four dead ones born the last time, she wanted me there in case she needed help with these. I sat on the floor right beside her and when the first kitten was born, and was well, she purred so loudly. And she's not a purrer."

 purr purr purr ... nom nom nom

And so came into this world Henry and Oliver.

Next week: We learn more of the challenges facing this new little family!