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| Name: |
Youri, Nicolai
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Age: |
Four months old
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| Gender: |
Male
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Breed: |
Russian Blue
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| Home: |
Eindhoven, Holland
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These
are two of my cats, called Youri (on the left) and Nicolai (on the right).
They're Russian Blue cats. On the picture they're about four months old and they
celebrated their first birthday on 13 March.
I had planned on taking only Youri and when I went to see him for the first time
when they were eight weeks old, the breeder had some very disturbing news. It
turned out Youri and his brother Nicolai had a congenital defect, a concave
sternum, which means that their chest bone is too flat. This had gone unnoticed
before. The breeder offered an alternative kitten and I thought hard about it and
called my vet for advice. It was possible that the two kittens would develop
breathing problems as they grew, for there was no telling how their chest bones
would develop. I made an emotional decision, even against my own better
judgement, and decided to take them both in. I would give them the best life I
could no matter how brief it would be and I would see what would happen, even
though I knew they could cause me a lot of grief.
I'm very glad to say that they're both going to be fine. Much to everyone's
surprise, their chest bones, although still a bit too flat, are not causing them
any problems and as they're almost one year old now and practically fully grown
no problems are to be expected. It was great seeing them both grow up together.
They're very attached to each other (and to me) and they get on really well with
the other cats. You really can't tell anything is wrong with them, seeing them
climb the curtains or chasing each other around the place. As I'm typing this,
Nicolai is sitting in my lap, purring away. It must be wonderful to be a cat!
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