A Very Special Wednesday's Waif: Harvest

"Hullo, my name's Harvest.

I came here to Wayside as a stray kitty, and though I have enjoyed my time here, I am ready for a home to call my own. I would love it if that home was with you!"

 
"As you can tell from my video, I am a very sweet, loving and playful medium-haired red and white handsome boy, who is ready for a furever buddy.

I should let everyone know that I am special feline. When I came here to Wayside I found out that I have a heart defect. I have a double chambered right ventricle. The doctors here at Wayside took me to a heart specialist to make sure I got the care needed, and they say I may have a few less years here than most kitties.

That's okay though. I promise I'll pack a lifetime's worth of love in the time you and I have together. Cross my paws, I will!"

"And seeing as I have no time to waste, could you maybe come see me, today? I would love the chance to meet you in person and then just maybe go home with you, so please come on down!

I'm the cute, playful and totally affectionate one.

Much love,
Harvest"

Sweet Harvest needs a hero. Can you please share about this very special, loving and fun little boy?
He's available for adoption to a very special person only, at Allie's Alma Mater, Wayside Waifs.

***

A Very Special Wednesday's Waif on Friday

"Hi, my name is Mac!

I bet you noticed my darling picture and my sparkly eyes. I am an adorable, sweet, affectionate kitten who just wants to be loved and cared for.

It seems so simple, I know, but I've already experienced sadness and stress in my young life, so I don't take anything for granted. One thing is for sure...if you decide to rescue me and make me part of your family, I will be grateful to you every single day for the rest of my life."

"When I first came to Wayside as a baby, I was in awful shape. I was so thin and dehydrated and fragile. My foster mom realized that I needed extra love in my life, so she took me home with her and has been nurturing me into the handsome boy you see today.

Foster Mom is also a veterinarian, so besides teaching me about life as a family cat, she has helped me to learn to deal with my health issues. They don't really hold me back, and they are just something in life I have to deal with, but I want you to be aware of them all the same. I hope you're not the kind of person who will turn away when you find out I'm not perfect.

It was just bad luck, I guess, that I was born with a rare and fragile skin condition."

Dood, you're only 4 months old. You're STILL a baby!

"My skin doesn't have the collagen, or protein, that it needs to stay strong and resilient. Because of this, I am prone to painful sores when my skin is torn or damaged.

While this condition is not curable, my skin has healed beautifully and I am expected to live a good life as long as my family helps keep me protected from future trauma. I will just need a little extra tender loving care in my life, to keep me happy, healthy, and comfortable. I hope you don't mind giving that to me!

I need to be an indoor only cat. I should never be held by the scruff of my neck, even during vet visits."

"But by all means, you can pet me, pick me up, and definitely play with me! I feel and act like a normal kitten these days, so I hope you will give me lots of gentle love and attention.

But I hope you will also be willing to take me to the vet in the event you notice any future skin issues, since they are painful for me.

I am super cuddly and a love bug! I love curling up on a nice warm lap. And just like a typical kitten, I also love playing with a variety of cat toys, but my favorites are squeaky mice and cat dancers.

If you think you have room in your heart and the right type of environment for me, I would love to meet you and show you my delightful personality and zest for life!

Love, Mac"





Mac's available to a very special someone - at Allie's Alma Mater: Wayside Waifs!

***

Huge Thanks to Glogirly 

for featuring our book Rescued today!

Visit Glogirly.com for a very special giveaway!

***

.

MARCH SPECIAL OFFER!

March book sales help find homes
for the cats at Great Plains SPCA.

Each copy of Rescued you buy from us
comes with an autographed bookplate

from Ryker, the star of "Ryker's Rescue,"

customized just for you..

CLICK PAYPAL IN SIDEBAR TO BUY
Thank you!

***

Sunday's Shelter Sweetie: Swatch!

"Arrr, Mateys!  I'm Swatch and I'm ready for Meow Like a Pirate Day! Or to be a swashbuckling pirate this Halloween. All I need is a kitty sized eye patch and I'm good to go.

Some people call me a Special Needs kitty because I have one eye. And I hear whispers that people think I'm less adoptable because of it.

Arr, I say!  Make'em walk the plank!

I get around just fine!  And when I get time out of my kennel, I jump up and down off the chairs, visit all my buds in their kennels and can spot a cat treat a mile away with my remaining eye.
WORD.
I'm still living the good life, so no pity party for this little dude, 'k?"

"I'm friendly - which goes without saying for orange tabbies. We are known for our friendly personalities. In fact, a lot of people with very little cat experience are advised to choose one of us as we're very easy-going guys and would be a great practice cat.

Notice I said guys, because there are hardly ever any female orange tabbies. Maybe once in a blue moon, but Mother Nature simply doesn't make them. That's okay though - you have ME!

And see?  I'm a very educational fellow to have around, too.

I'm so sweet, loving and playful (Well I'm hardly out of the kitten stage - so I have been known to get a case of the Zoomies once in a while. I'm just TONS of fun!)

I especially like wand toys that I can chase or catch. Do you have any toys like that at your house? I'd love to see 'em. And if the answer is "no", not to worry, we can buy one at the Great Plains gift shop before we go home.

I'm so looking forward to meeting you - thanks for reading about me.
Your buddy,
Swatch"

Swatch is available to come home with you and zoom-zoom-zoom around your living room, TODAY!  Come meet him at the Independence Campus of Great Plains SPCA.

Special Edition Waif: Meet Macy!

We'd like for you to meet Macy. Macy is a total sweetheart - she loves following humans around, chirping and meowing and carrying on complete conversations.

She's so personable and friendly!

She's also a bit obese, and is therefore classified as a special needs cat. Macy needs someone who can help her shed the pounds, but do so in a way that is healthy for her.
Cats who lose weight too quickly are swiftly susceptible to Hepatic Lipidosis, a condition that is often fatal. (Our human's mom lost her kitty to this, so we know how deadly it can be. You can read more about this disease here.)

Please, won't you share Macy with your friends and followers on Facebook, twitter and Instagram? Let's find this sweet girl a home - a good one!

Thank you!

Macy is available for adoption at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City.

Wednesday's Waif: Ramona

"Meow there! My name is Little Ramona, but I have a great big personality! I'm what's known in Felineality circles as a Leader of the Band -- a bold, confident cat who loves people and adventure."

"I'm a very pretty brown and black tabby kitty with super soft fur.

I was transferred to Wayside from another shelter that was out of space. When I came to Wayside, I was in pretty bad shape. I had a terrible upper respiratory infection, which, thankfully, is now cured.

Also, my left front leg was severely atrophied and was hurting me. I must have badly injured it at some point. The vets here at Wayside decided it would be best to amputate it. So now I'm a three-legged kitty.

It hasn't gotten me down at all. In fact, I still love to play with toys, even with just one front paw. People here at Wayside say I'm playful, affectionate, and a "real sweetheart."

I've also been told I have an indomitable spirit. If you're looking for a sweet, beautiful friend who'll help you keep your sunny side up even when life gives you rain clouds, come to Wayside and meet me, Little Ramona!

Love, LR"

Some people might think our little girl here is less adoptable because she's a tripod kitty, but we think that's rubbish.

Differently-abled kitties like our girl here are very special, and we're looking for someone equally special to adopt her.

Are you the one? She's waiting at Allie's Alma Mater, Wayside Waifs.

 ***

Thanks to you, A Tonk's Tail is up for the Petties' Funniest Blog Award!

Winning would mean $1,000 for the cats of Great Plains SPCA.
Their numbers are creeping up to 800 - and they are running out of supplies.

You have our heartfelt thanks!

Thursday Extra: Drew's Happy Ever After

Remember Drew? Our adorable little marmalade boy with a big heart? (Quite literally)

We thought you'd love seeing him in his new home.
Watching "Horton Hears a Who" with his new girl.

Photo used with permission.

Can I get a squee?

We interrupt this Thursday with a very special Kitten

Meet Drew. He has a big heart. Quite literally!

Drew is a cuddly, playful little boy with tons of love to give. He also has an enlarged heart. Drew may not have as long a life as other cats, but he's ready to pack it full of fun and tender moments and great memories. In our book, that makes him a special gives cat, not a special needs cat.



We're looking for a special someone who has a heart as big as Drew's.

Are you the one?

A rare disease for a cat

Did you know? January is National Thyroid Awareness Month. And while we're sure its inception was aimed at raising awareness of human thyroid disease, that same disease is often found in our pets as well.
So we wanted to take this opportunity to take a closer look at it.

Thyroid disease varies a bit between cats and dogs, and what's common in dogs isn't necessarily so common in cats. There are two types of thyroid disease: hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) and hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).

Gaby at 4 months

I'd already decided to write about this when I was contacted by our shelter with a video request: we have a special needs kitty, and coincidentally, she has hypothyroidism. The disease now had a face. An adorable, 4 month old kitten face.

Gaby is cuddly, energetic, sweet and feisty - and well on the road to health, thanks to an amazing veterinarian at Wayside.

Because of the great response we generated from the interview with Dr. Liu on Stiles, our Twisty Cat, she reached out to me and asked if I would do the same for Gaby.

Would I!

Dr. Liu does a far better job than I ever could of explaining this disease in this 5 minute video, so i'll let her do the heavy lifting. [Besides, she's holding a little fluff ball of adorableness while she talks, so what's not to love?]



I had no idea hypothyroidism is so rare - and it'll take a very special human who is committed to life-long medical care to give this little girl a good home. But we know she's going to win someone's heart over any day now!

***

UPDATE:
I just checked my email - and Dr. Liu had sent me a "stop the presses!" email...
Gaby's been adopted!

Tomorrow: Feline Hyperthyroidism

Blog The Change: "Twisty cats"

Today we interrupt our weekly Toon Tuesdays to join forces with our fellow pet bloggers around the world as we work to help bring about positive change for pets.

For this Blog the Change post, we'd like to tell you a story.

Recently, our shelter, Wayside Waifs, rescued a 5 month old kitten found as a stray. That's not unusual - we do that quite often.

What is unusual is that this sweet little boy was born with an medical condition that ensured he would not last long on the streets.


Stiles is what is known as a "twisty cat". Sometimes called squittens or kangaroo cats, these kittens are born with front legs that have not developed normally.

In Stiles' case, he's missing one of the two bones in his forearms - the radius bone. And a few of the bones in his wrist are underdeveloped, too, causing his paws to permanently curve inward.

Our Monday Medical series is usually a written article, but this time, we made a video and saved it for Tuesday's Blog the Change. We interviewed Stiles' veterinarian at Wayside, so you could get firsthand information about this sweet little boy, straight from the source.

And yes, he's incredibly sweet, as you will see. In fact, one of our volunteers calls him a "special gives" cat, not a "special needs" cat, because he has so very much love to give.

She calls him that for another reason too:  because in caring for a kitty like Stiles, invariably you are touched and amazed by the big heart these animals have - and how utterly unaware they are that they are different in any way.

 Stiles is indeed a "special gives" kitten.




As much as Stiles wanted a forever home, all of us at Wayside were determined to match him very carefully with an adopter that understood his special needs and would give him the very best care.

Well, we're very happy to say Stiles got his New Year's wish!

A woman saw Stiles' video - and saw his news coverage on KCTV 5 - and called repeatedly to ask if he was out of foster yet. When she heard he was, she drove an hour and a half to come get him. And she plans to knit Stiles his very own leggings to protect those delicate wrists.

Don't you just love happy endings?

Since today is Blog The Change Day we wanted to highlight this very special type of cat.  Many shelters would have considered Stiles unadoptable and he would have probably been euthanized. And - horrifying thought - we heard during the course of getting to know Stiles that some people actually try to breed for this condition. To us that's cruel and inhumane - and there should be a law to forbid it.

We're so glad Stiles has a happy story to tell. And w wanted to shine a light on one incredible nonprofit organization that creates leggings for paralyzed and impaired pets like Stiles, to help make their lives more comfortable.

Please "like" Leggings For Life on facebook - and take a moment to share a word of thanks with them for their labor of love on behalf of disabled pets.