Saffron
We first noticed Saffron crouching on a ramp near some garbage bags when we went to use the ATM at a bank in SS19. He looked at me as I walked back to our parked car and I thought there was something unusual about his posture but thought nothing more of it. The next day, we had to revisit the bank, due to the difficulties we had encountered with another bank, which we call the Retch and Heave Blood Bank. On our way in, I again noticed Saffron, crouching with his back to me near some garbage bags, this time right outside the glass doors of the bank. He turned to look at me. I’m not imagining that he was ‘pleading silently’ to be rescued. Stray cats have to be wary just to survive. On our way out, he had moved over to the other side of the garbage bags and was attempting to eat some buns in plastic bags that had been thrown out by the bakery next door. With his body facing me, I could see that his fore paws were twisted and deformed. There was no way he would survive long on the streets. He can’t run, hunt or fight off attackers.
We knew that we had to rescue him there and then. We went to retrieve our cat carrier (which had recently housed Toffee), made a few phone calls to find someone to foster him until our existing Meows could be prepared and when we returned, he was resting on the verge of the drain near where the plastic bags that lately contained the buns now lay empty. He did not protest when Gravitas picked him up and stuffed him into the cat carrier. We rushed over to our neighbourhood hypermarket, grateful that it stayed open til 10.30pm, bought a cage, kitty litter, litter box and scoop, a food bowl and a bag of Fiskies (ocean fish flavour - our existing Meows’ favourite). The sister of a friend had kindly agreed to foster Saffron at her parents’ house. Unfortunately the house was also home to three noisy and nosy dogs and Saffron must have been traumatised because when we arrived the next day to take him to the vet, he hissed and spat at us. That was when I noticed that one of his hind foot was paralysed.
The first vet (whose clinic has x-ray facilities) we took Saffron to was of the opinion that his twisted forelegs and deformed paws (he has a digit or three missing) are the result of a birth defect and that he suffered nerve damage resulting in the paralysis of his hind paw. The vet assessed Saffron to be an under-nourished kitten of 6 months and said that since he has learnt to get around despite his handicap, all he needed was to go to a good home where he will be taken care of. If that home has existing cats, they will have to accept him as he is and not try to bully him.
I googled cat deformities when I got home and what Saffron has looks like Radial Hypoplasia, a genetic defect sometimes observed in inbred feral cats. The Second vet (our regular) said that RH is very rare and that Saffron many have suffered fractures that did not set properly. I suppose a definitive diagnosis will only available if and when x-rays are taken. Saffron currently resides in our bathroom as he undergoes his flea treatments, is administered meds for his diarrhoea, eats a special diet of boiled chicken breast and as we try to get our existing Meows to accept him. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with cat intergration, be informed that it is a long-drawn out process as cats are very territorial.
Poor Saffron has only one good paw. He gets around by hobbling, his front elbows knocking and scraping on the floor his paws dangling uselessly. He can only scratch the side of him with the good hind paw. We wondered how he survived the months after his mother turned him out to start her next litter. We thought we were doing him a kindness by taking him in. Instead, he has given us more. He has taught us about peseverance, about keeping at it eventhough the odds are against you, about not giving up eventhough you’ve got about as much chance as a snowball in hell. He has also taught me not to be afraid of those who are different because underneath, we’re more alike than we’re different and all of us want the same things - to be loved and to have a chance at life. Saffron is a sweet cat. He already responds to his name, eats with gusto (anyone would, I suppose, if they’ve been starving) and purrs loudly when we stroke him and even stands up on his hind legs, his tail helping with the balance, for his sayang.
We were hoping to be put in contact with special people who take in special needs cats (yes, there are quite a few of them around). But Saffron has grown on us, and provided he and the existing Spice Meows Ginger and Pepa can get along, I suspect he’ll be living out his lives with us.
We knew that we had to rescue him there and then. We went to retrieve our cat carrier (which had recently housed Toffee), made a few phone calls to find someone to foster him until our existing Meows could be prepared and when we returned, he was resting on the verge of the drain near where the plastic bags that lately contained the buns now lay empty. He did not protest when Gravitas picked him up and stuffed him into the cat carrier. We rushed over to our neighbourhood hypermarket, grateful that it stayed open til 10.30pm, bought a cage, kitty litter, litter box and scoop, a food bowl and a bag of Fiskies (ocean fish flavour - our existing Meows’ favourite). The sister of a friend had kindly agreed to foster Saffron at her parents’ house. Unfortunately the house was also home to three noisy and nosy dogs and Saffron must have been traumatised because when we arrived the next day to take him to the vet, he hissed and spat at us. That was when I noticed that one of his hind foot was paralysed.
The first vet (whose clinic has x-ray facilities) we took Saffron to was of the opinion that his twisted forelegs and deformed paws (he has a digit or three missing) are the result of a birth defect and that he suffered nerve damage resulting in the paralysis of his hind paw. The vet assessed Saffron to be an under-nourished kitten of 6 months and said that since he has learnt to get around despite his handicap, all he needed was to go to a good home where he will be taken care of. If that home has existing cats, they will have to accept him as he is and not try to bully him.
I googled cat deformities when I got home and what Saffron has looks like Radial Hypoplasia, a genetic defect sometimes observed in inbred feral cats. The Second vet (our regular) said that RH is very rare and that Saffron many have suffered fractures that did not set properly. I suppose a definitive diagnosis will only available if and when x-rays are taken. Saffron currently resides in our bathroom as he undergoes his flea treatments, is administered meds for his diarrhoea, eats a special diet of boiled chicken breast and as we try to get our existing Meows to accept him. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with cat intergration, be informed that it is a long-drawn out process as cats are very territorial.
Poor Saffron has only one good paw. He gets around by hobbling, his front elbows knocking and scraping on the floor his paws dangling uselessly. He can only scratch the side of him with the good hind paw. We wondered how he survived the months after his mother turned him out to start her next litter. We thought we were doing him a kindness by taking him in. Instead, he has given us more. He has taught us about peseverance, about keeping at it eventhough the odds are against you, about not giving up eventhough you’ve got about as much chance as a snowball in hell. He has also taught me not to be afraid of those who are different because underneath, we’re more alike than we’re different and all of us want the same things - to be loved and to have a chance at life. Saffron is a sweet cat. He already responds to his name, eats with gusto (anyone would, I suppose, if they’ve been starving) and purrs loudly when we stroke him and even stands up on his hind legs, his tail helping with the balance, for his sayang.
We were hoping to be put in contact with special people who take in special needs cats (yes, there are quite a few of them around). But Saffron has grown on us, and provided he and the existing Spice Meows Ginger and Pepa can get along, I suspect he’ll be living out his lives with us.
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