Meow! My name is Kimmy

Kimmy is a cute, spunky, loving, petite cat.  She loves to snuggle with her person.   She likes her adventures throughout the house too.  Sitting in the window watching people and cars go by, or sitting on the screened in porch watching the birds at the bird feeder.  Kimmy also likes her companion cats.  She even likes the dogs and rubs her little cheeks on theirs.   Nothing much bothers Kimmy.  She is a happy go lucky girl. Kimmy is a dilute tortie/silver tabby mix and is about 1.5ys old as of July1,2012.

Kimmy is extremely healthy except for one thing.  When Kimmy was a baby she suffered from recurring upper respiratory infections (URIs).  Baby Kimmy’s multiple URIs caused severe scar tissue in her nasal passages, so although her tear ducts continued to produce tears normally, Kimmy’s tears overflowed onto her cheeks, causing a perpetually wet little face.

None of this bothers Kimmy.  She sometimes squints a little but wipe her little cheeks and she’s ready to go on her merry way.  An operation to ream out her nasal passages was considered but it is extremely painful and usually unsuccessful.  The operation is also risky and could kill her.  We have therefore decided to not put Kimmy through that ordeal.   Kimmy is not a special needs cat.  She needs no medications.  She just needs her little cheeks wiped. 

Kimmy is now ready for her own family and a loving lap to luxuriate in.  Kimmy must be adopted to an inside forever home only.  References, vet check, and home visit required.  Kimmy’s adoption donation of  $90 $50 will be used to help other neglected and abused kitties. 

To adopt Kimmy please contact us at SilverRescue@gmail.com for an application. 

Kimmy’s Story:  Kimmy and her siblings were born to a starved former house-cat who was abandoned, intact and not vaccinated.  Mom tried her best to care for her babies but she was too weak to catch much food. Many people think that since cats are predators, they will be able to fend for themselves when forced to live outside on their own. House-cats, however, are accustomed to having their food set before them in a dish.  It takes experience, determination and getting very hungry before they succeed as hunters, and some never do. 

Neighborhood kids tormenting Mom with sticks and rocks brought her to the attention of a Good Samaritan.  Thank goodness the children didn’t discover the kittens!   Understandably skittish, Mom needed a little coaxing to allow the Good Samaritan to take her little family home.  There, despite efforts at bottle feeding, the sickly kittens died one by one.   Kimmy alone was strong and feisty enough to survive. 

But there was a price for the poor beginning.  Both mother and daughter suffered recurring upper respiratory infections (URIs). In normal cats, a small hole called a puncta is present in both the upper and lower eyelids very close to the where the lids meet near the nose. Tears normally flow down these drainage holes into a central collecting sac that sits just under the skin below the eye. From this sac, a small tube or duct carries the tears into the nose, helping to keep the nose and nostrils moist.  Baby Kimmy’s multiple URIs caused severe scar tissue in her nasal passages, so although her tear ducts continued to produce tears normally, Kimmy’s tears overflowed onto her cheeks, causing a perpetually wet little face.

A number of attempts – some requiring anesthesia – failed to solve Kimmy’s problem.  A specialist recommended a trip to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville for a solution that might allow her to live normally but there was no guarantee and it would be a painful and dangerous operation that would cost $1,200 - $2,000, depending on the extent of the blockage.  Since there was no guarantee that the surgery would work, Silver Rescue decided against the surgery and let Kimmy live a happy, long life even with the little wet cheeks.