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| Name: |
Wheezie
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Age: |
One year old
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| Gender: |
Female
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Kind: |
Domestic shorthair
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| Home: |
Escondido, California, USA
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Last
summer I offered to foster three kittens for my daughter who was rescuing
"red listed" kitties from local animal shelters. These babies were to be
euthanized because they were sick. In addition to the kitties my daughter had
pulled, the attendants from the shelter begged her to take a little feral
tiger girl because she was very sick and not eating. They knew she would not
survive. That was how we first met Wheezie.
Wheezie was so sick that I took her to work for a week and fed her with a
syringe to get food and medicine down her. I wasn't sure she would make it.
Once she started feeling better and eating on her own we realized that she was
very afraid of people, and would run from us all the time. She didn't trust
anyone.
The kittens were kept in our computer room where I would sit and answer email
each evening. The other foster kitties climbed all over me and were very
social - Wheezie sat and watched them but didn't want to visit.
Eventually one day, to my amazement, Wheezie jumped up on the desk, ate a few
bites of food, then climbed into my lap. I would pet her a bit and scratch her
chin gently and then wait to see what she would do. She would go back, eat a
little more, then come back to my lap. She now also sits next to us when we
are on the couch, but a sudden movement will still send her running.
Wheezie is a very tiny cat - about six pounds. The vet doesn't think she'll
get much bigger. Because her mom was feral and she was born and raised in that
environment she probably had poor nutrition and her small size is the result.
Wheezie is very clever and nimble, though. She figures out very quickly how to
get to places she can't reach due to her size.
Her favorite thing to do is paw at the aquarium to try and catch the fish. She
uses both front feet and looks like she is digging a hole.
We gave Wheezie her name because she was so congested when we first got her
she wheezed all the time. The name stuck and now she is also called Wheez-ola,
Wheezers, Wheezie-woo, Little Bitty Butt, and Munchkin.
We hadn't planned on keeping Wheezie, but she has attached herself to our
family and our hearts. The little Munchkin is here to stay.
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