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Saturday, October 1, 2011

Koko the sightless feline - but don't tell her

Well, never having 'blogged' before, I figure the way to start is with Koko.

A black "Tuxedo" kitty was dumped with her siblings and found in the middle of the road in Adams County, Ohio.  Her siblings died, all having massive 'gunkiness' - eyes, noses, even mouths filled with mucus.  The person who rescued Koko called me because she is a 'dog person' and didn't have a clue what to do with this malnourished, flea infested, filthy, mucus covered teeny kitty.  She gave her a flea bath (dog flea soap!) and tried to clean some of the mucus.

I already had 4 dogs and somewhere around 9 - 10 cats, but reluctantly agreed to meet the rescuer to pick up the nameless kitten.

As soon as I saw the scrawny thing I fell in love - but I didn't know if she would make it.  She was probably about 4 weeks old and her whole face was a mass of dried mucus, yet as soon as I cuddled her she started purring.  What can you do you know?  The obvious:  I took her home, boiled some water, let it cool, and used it with paper towels to clean her face.  And I found bad news.  One eye, her right one, was bulging and obviously causing her discomfort.  It was sure to rupture - and soon.  It was glazed and obviously sightless.  The other eye wasn't swollen but didn't appear to have any sight and was constantly oozing.

I had picked her up on a Friday or Saturday and it was a holiday weekend.  The 4th of July was that Monday.  I fed her canned kitten food, kitten milk and 1.5 cc Amoxicillin 2x day and left a message for my veterinarian.  The kitten had a good appetite, a great attitude and no fear.  I kept her in the master bathroom on her own not knowing if she might have FeLV (Feline Leukemia), FIV, FIP or any of the other nasty, contagious things cats can have.  She sure had bad upper respiratory problems which might mean Feline Herpes! (She has since tested negative for all and has had her full series of shots.)

First thing Tuesday morning, July 5, 2011, my vet (Dr. Beery,) called me back and I made arrangements to take her in immediately.  Dr. Beery concurred the right eye was about ready to go and there was no sight in the left eye.  Best bet was to surgically remove both immediately as it was doubtful she had ever had a chance to know what it was like to see and she would likely die otherwise.  So it was done.

Meanwhile, I went home and searched my mind (rather short process) and then searched the internet (rather long process on dial-up) looking for names for the new kitty.

Koko was it.  It is the American Indian (Blackfoot) word for 'night'; it is the name of the first gorilla to learn American Sign Language for the blind, and; Koko the gorilla, signed to her keepers - repeatedly - that she wanted a kitten - a REAL LIVE kitten - for Christmas.  She got the kitten, adopted it and loved it and all the following kittens she had.  Had to be the name for my new kitten however long she was with me.

Since then, Koko has memorized the house, made friends with all the other cats (well, except for a couple who aren't even friends with themselves let alone me, other cats or dogs!) and dogs, gets groomed by the 75# Samoyed, jumps onto and off of everything with no fear, and goes outside on a leash to chase leaves.

Her right eye kept seeping so back to the vet to have it opened, cleaned and re-sutured about 3 weeks after the initial surgery.

Then, last Saturday, 9/24/11, I took her to the Pet Health Day in Adams County cause she had problems with her ears and I didn't know if it was mites, (too gooey) a yeast infection or possibly a bacterial infection, each requiring a different treatment.  (Kudos to Dr. Dan and crew at All Creatures Animal Hospital in Amelia, Ohio for this great thing they do!)  I found she had a bacterial ear infection and her eye was seeping again!  Medicine for her ears (she HATES IT!) was in order and another visit to my vet.

Back to my vet 9/27, where both eye sockets were opened again and further tissue removed, sockets irrigated and both re-sutured.  She was still out of it when she came home that afternoon but by the next day was ready for action again.

So, Koko the wonder kitty, who doesn't know she should have had the chance to see, runs around the house that she owns, demands goodies from the human she owns and is absolutely amazing.  I am going to take her to Tractor Supply (TSC) for my friends there to meet next week and let her choose some goodies as they all want to buy her something and play with her.

Stay tuned to hear how she handles catnip.......  

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