My name is Blackie!

UPDATE--Blackie is doing so well!! I replaced the first picture of a more recent one and you can see the difference in his eyes and coat. He looks and feels so much better. He can now get onto and off an ottoman or chair on his own with no trouble. He also is very clear when he wants to be held and loved on. He will stretch his front legs up the side of your leg, reaching up as far as he can, until you pick him up and love on him for a while. Please read on further--he is a wonderful cat and he is getting stronger all the time. I am sure that he will always have some issues but he would also be an amazing addition to the right family. Blackie's story is a long and detailed one but I wanted to make sure that any potential family knew all about him. He is an adult over 2 and under 7 years old but because of his condition, it is hard for the vets to narrow it down much more. So that means an approximate date of birth of July 2002-2007.

He is wonderful and very sweet, however, he does have some issues that make him a "special needs" cat. At the time he was found and we were called in to assist, the assumption was that he had been hit by a car. He was very thin, could not walk normally and had a jaw injury. Of course with a kitty in this rough of shape, we did blood work right away. He is FeLV/FIV negative and all of his other blood work was completely normal. In fact, the vets were amazed at how great his blood work turned out. We really thought that, if he was FeLV/FIV negative, he must have some kidney or liver problems. Sometimes, I like to be wrong!

After examination, it was determined that the jaw injury was an old one that had healed incorrectly. He is not able to ever completely close his mouth. The vets do not believe it can be corrected. He can eat well on his own but he is quite messy. I solve that problem by using the disposable potty pads (usually used for housetraining puppies) under his dish and change them after each meal. He can eat dry food and I always have some available to him but he is able to eat canned food much more easily so he gets canned food twice a day. He weighed about 5 pounds when he first came to us (July 12, 2009) and, now, only 2 ½ weeks later, he weighs almost 9 pounds. It is amazing what actually eating real food can do for a starving cat!

Because of his jaw injury, Blackie does drool some, especially when he is hungry or if he is excited. I just use a tissue to wipe his mouth.

His litter box habits are good as well. He does best with a large box so that if he stumbles or can’t aim correctly, he doesn’t throw a bunch of litter out as he buries his “treasure”. He may even do well with a covered box but I have not used one with him here.

He also has a severe allergy to fleas and when he came to us, his coat was a mess. He had patches of missing fur and inflammed skin. He was treated for the fleas and the inflammation and now, his skin is looking much better and his fur is starting to grow back in. Because of his jaw injury, he is not able to groom himself very well (though, bless his heart, he does try really hard) so he does require regular brushing to keep the coat looking nice and mat free.

He has several teeth that are cracked/chipped/broken. At this time, none of them are causing him any pain or infection problems, so the vets believe we should leave them alone. If they ever do become a problem, some of them may need to be extracted.

The other main issue for Blackie is the apparent neurological problems. As you see in the video, he is unable to walk in a straight line and sometimes he falls over for no reason. He is able to right himself pretty well and move along his way. He loves to play with the other cats and with toys, but again, he loses his balance and falls over quite often. He is unable to jump much at all. He does put his front paws up on your lap when he wants to be loved on or lay in your arms. At this time, he is unable to jump up onto the couch, chair or bed. That may change with time but we don't know. He can climb up a cage door when he is excited about getting fed but sometimes he tries it and is not successful.

Even I, a person who has been involved with pets since I was a small child and has been doing rescue work for nearly 15 years, have never seen anything like Blackie. When he first came to us, I was so worried for him. He seemed to be in such agony, looking at me with his dull eyes, meowing pitifully, so frail that I was afraid I would hurt him when I was trying to medicate him. I struggled for the first few days with whether or not we were doing the right thing...perhaps it would be more humane to euthanize him and let him have peace. But seemingly overnight, after a few days in our care, he began to turn the corner. Now, he has been with us for less than 3 weeks and he is doing so much better--well enough to be neutered and vaccinated 2 days ago.

Even though his history has been rough and his future will not be the easiest, he deserves an indoor home where he will never be hungry again and where he is safe. He needs a "forever" home with a person or family who is willing and able to be patient with him and attend to his special feeding, grooming and mobility issues. He is very loving and, even with all of his problems, you can see in his eyes that he is happy, that he loves to be loved on, play with his toys and just life in general. I know he does well with other cats (with the normal adjustment period, of course) and I think he would do well with gentle dogs and older kids. Are you the right one to love Blackie?