I'm looking for a companion for my 18 month old special needs kitty Church, who was born brain damaged and epileptic.
He has trouble walking and coordinating himself, is very dependent, like a big kitten, and is very peculiar behaviourally. Throughout his life it's been hard to get advice about his care as his condition seems to be quite unique.
Since he was rejected by his mother at the age of four weeks, I really feel that he would benefit from the company of another cat, who could maybe teach him things that I unfortunately can't. Church has never learned to meow or purr (he makes his own noises!) and as a result of growing up with two adult dogs who were exceptionally gentle with him, will only play like a dog, wrestling with squeaky toys. My vet suggested that these are the sort of things a cat may learn from his mother or litter mates, a learning curve he sadly missed out on.
But the reason I am looking for a kitty with disabilities is not only because I'm looking for a compatible companion for Church, but because I feel my family are in a unique position to provide such a cat with the attention he/she needs. As well as having a lot of experience with general animal care and meeting the needs of a disabled cat, and having a disabled-kitty proof home, my family have organised our schedules so that at least one person is at home for Church at all times. On the rare occasion that we go out as a family we have a trusted friend who acts as 'baby sitter'. It seems to all of us that since we are in the position to give constant attention to another cat that needs a special home, we should!
Here's a bit more basic info about us -
My name is Rae. Contact me via Raegellel@live.co.uk and I will give you further contact details.
We live in a four bedroom house in South East London, in the borough of Greenwich. We live opposite Winns common, which is a large area of green and woods, where we walk the dogs. We have a garden with high fences and a catflap that both our Jack Russell and cat use. We supervise our cat when he's in the garden and are looking for an indoor cat only. We were hoping for a kitten.
We have two dogs - 10 year old Mongrel Alfie, 5 year old Jack Russell Mindie. Both are friendly towards people and cats. Alfie in particular wants to be a surrogate mother to everything small and furry - even orphaned baby guinea pigs! We have a few small animals - a snake, three terrapins, a tarantula, and a hamster. Only the Terrapins are kept in a place that is accessible to the other animals, but their tank is very secure.
People tend to offer us animals a lot, knowing we have trouble turning down anything that needs a home, and we often get called to ferry injured pigeons to the vet or if it's very late to a friend who is a Veterinary Nurse. But we always house these animals well out of reach of the dogs and cats since Mindie (being a typical Jack Russell) can be a bit snappy towards them.
We are a family consisting of five adults (myself, my brother, my mother, stepdad, and boyfriend) and two kids aged 12 and 10. They are named Kevin and Kerri and are very, very good with animals, have been taught to treat them with respect, and are quiet (most of the time!) and gentle. They are fostered but are part of the family. Our social worker knows how important our pets are to us and thought they would fit in particularly well since they grew up around lots of dogs and have no behavioural or emotional issues. They are animal lovers and will catch and release a mosquito in the garden rather than kill it.
My mother is a foster carer and therefore works at home. My brother and I both attend universities in London. My stepdad is a plumber and my boyfriend is an actor. Both work on a part time on-and-off basis. We work out our schedules so that someone is always home.
We are all CRB checked and both our dogs have been assessed as good family pets by a dog behaviourist. We'd be willing to have a home check. We are affiliated with lots of animal rights and welfare groups and have done fundraising for organisations such as Battersea Dogs home.
We have a car and will travel as far as we possibly can, within reason.
The picture attached is our cat, Church, aged 7 weeks, and my dog Alfie.
