Special Needs Cats Picture Gallery: Clara

My husband Thad, works in an industrial area in Kent, Washington. A female cat was dropped off there by a cruel person and she began living in the distribution yard at his company. Employees fed her and made her a bed outside.

The abandoned cat had four litters in 18 months. Some kittens disappeared, and some were adopted. Thad and I decided to put a stop to the uncontrolled breeding and brought home the mother cat, who is about two years old, and the two remaining kittens, who were, at that time, approximately 10 weeks old.

Their names are T.C. (mother), Gus and Clara. Gus and Clara were named after characters in our favorite mini-series, "Lonesome Dove." Both kittens suffer from birth defects. Gus has a problem with his back legs that causes him to walk bow-legged, but he gets around just fine and is very active.

Clara was weak and sickly and suffered from horrible abscesses on her back and neck due to constant attacks by a vicious tom. She is also blind.

After five months of twice-daily draining and cleaning the abscesses, they finally healed and her hair grew back. She is healthy and thriving!

Clara spent her first month living under our bed, venturing out only to her food, water, and litter box. Gradually, she began exploring the rest of the house, furniture, curtains, and plants. She knows her way around the house with few difficulties. Sometimes, when the dog, Lucy, is lying in the living room, and Clara doesn't know she's there, she'll run into her. When Clara is startled by Lucy coming into the house, she runs and sometimes miscalculates her jumps and either overshoots or undershoots the couch. She sometimes runs into doors that have been closed, but she's never been hurt.

Clara plays with fuzzy mice, batting them and carrying them around like normal cats do, although, she has trouble finding them if she flings them too far away.

We take her outside on supervised outings so she can socialize with our other five cats. She loves to smell everything outside, dig in the dirt, and catch bugs in the grass. One time, when we weren't quite vigilant enough, she climbed a tree. It was challenging to retrieve her.

She is very affectionate and purrs loudly. She loves to be with me at all times, and swats at my ankles if I ignore her, so I put her in a baby sling and carry her around while I'm getting ready for work. She can't judge distance too well, so her "swats" usually require bandages. Needless to say, Clara is much loved.