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Thunder
Location: Monroe, Louisiana, USA
Thunder came to us in April of this year. He was the runt of the litter of four. His dad, the roaming feral BlondieCat, had fathered Thunder’s sister, KatKat, who adopted me last year by simply showing up at my doorstep one sunny afternoon, flicking up her tail, letting out a short mrew?, and sliding past me, into the living room where she plopped down expectantly: feed me! Play with me! Bring me treats!
Thunder’s journey was a little bit more complicated.
The neighbor’s unspayed female had gotten out earlier this year, and BlondieCat, ever the neighborhood Casanova, took advantage of the situation, with predictable results, one of which was Thunder. Now, the neighbors had no intentions of keeping the kittens and asked if I would be interested in adopting one. I was, and when I took a peek at the litter, with little Thunder in his gray, glorious fluffyness, I pointed at him and said: “That one!”
I had to wait several weeks for Thunder to be weaned and to be ready to leave his mom and brothers and sisters, but one afternoon, the neighbor walked over, Thunder cupped in his hands, and said: “Here’s Thunder. Oh! He has fleas…uhm…well, uh, gotta run!” That was the last I saw of the neighbor. And what I saw of Thunder: literally covered in fleas, tiny, shivering, meowing. Worried about the fleas getting on KatKat and about Thunder’s general absence of health, I bathed him several times to try to get rid of the fleas. Poor Thunder! The first night at the new home turned into the hour of terror. Repeated dosing with wet stuff, followed by vigorous rubbing in a terry cloth: victory over the fleas was finally achieved. Exhausted, Thunder fell asleep, cradled in my neck, purring to comfort himself and occasionally blinking open an eye to assure himself I was still there.
The next morning I took him to our vet who thought Thunder was so malnourished and bled by the fleas he might have lasting neurological problems. I realized Thunder had problems walking in a straight line and keeping his head up without shaking, and it became obvious to me that Thunder might be a special needs kitten. So be it! Well, the vet treated Thunder for dehydration and worms and then encouraged me to syringe-feed him until he was strong enough to feed himself–which I did for about two weeks, and then something amazing happened: Thunder began to “perk up” and assert his independence. He started wobbling over to KatKat’s feeding bowl, scampered upstairs to the litter box, took an interest in jingle balls and crinkle mousies. He started to hold his head up straight and without shaking. Not only did he walk, he ran, jumped, backflipped.
He is about four months old now, still small for his age, but a purring machine, full of boundless energy, enjoying new discoveries (like cheese and icecubes!) and thundering with KatKat up and downstairs many times a day, living up to the full potential of his name!
38 Comments »
Love Thunder’s look of complete trust!
oh my, poor little Thunder! How wonderful of you to come along and take the time and energy to help this wee sweetie. Smooches and treats to his little grey tuxie-ness
Weather it is sunny or stormy I bet Thunder
will cause a little fun commotion in your family!
What a handsome boy!! Bless you for being there for him in his hour of need and nursing him back to health. Unfluffy thoughts for the neighbor that would allow baby kittens to be in such poor condition. Wishing you and Thunder many happy and healthy years together.
Seconding the unfluffy thoughts to your neighbor. To let someone this tiny be covered in fleas like that is almost criminal. We won’t even say the choice words we have for someone who will not spay their kitty. Let’s just say we hope they’ll be reborn as something less than pleasant as a reward.
And kudos on you for getting this cute kitten healthy and happy.
What handsome boy! Thank you for sharing such a great story about Thunder – he will be a wonderful pet and companion for many years to come…lucky you!
I’m so glad that you are the ones to have picked little Thunder! He is adorable and has such a sweet face. What a precious kitten!
One more grabs the brass ring…bless you…now if someone could just teach neighbor some catcare, or wrest them from him….
he’s pretty as he can be, and it’s an excellent photo, too.
Awww Thunder. A very nice picture of this handsome chap.
What a cutie!!! Wishing you much happiness with your 2 kitties!
What a great story, Thunder rocks, and its made me really happy reading this! Long may he and KatKat purr!
Thunder might have cerebellar hypoplasia.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4753014_care-cat-ch-cerebellar-hypoplasia.html
It is caused by an infection the mother cat gets while she is carrying the unborn litter. It’s incurable but the symptoms only get better, not worse. Cats with the condition are wobbly, especially in their hindquarters, but they learn to compensate and it doesn’t seem to cause them any distress. At the veterinary clinic where I work we had an orphan kitten living with us for a year or so. Jackson great up to be a gorgeous cat and did very well. He has a wonderful new home.
What a great story. Thunder is a sweet little kitten. Thank you for taking him and Katkat in. (And I hope their momma gets fixed soon.)
Katkat reminded me of my foster kitten. Someone handed her to me and she instantly had this “I’m staying with you now. Love me. Play with me. Feed me.” attitude.
I could’ve cried! Thunder…what an amazing kitty you are!
Wonderful story about you and Thunder. Gotta really wonder about your neighbor. Not exactly “cat owner of the year” material. Blessings on you and your big heart for the small furry babies.
What a great story. Thunder certainly has found his angel in you. Thank you for taking such good care of him. He is beautiful.
You’re blessed with such a beauty. In the picture, he looks like he’s looking up at a ceiling fan. So cute!
EXCELLENT JOB!!!!
On both caring for you beautiful grey tuxedo
sweetness and in letting us know all the details of your story. I hate it when people
leave only a two line synopsis…
May you and your precious THUNDER! live long
and happy lives together.
P.S. head nudges to KatKat!
What a touching story. I am really happy for you and of course Thunder. He is adorable. He could run all over my house, my kitties would love him.
What a wonder is Thunder!
How amazing it is to hear about a kitten who was so badly treated at the beginning of his life, and whose life changed so radically for the better when he met you!
Bless you forever!
This is a wonderful story, I’m so happy at the outcome! Thunder is cute as could be and KatKat sounds precious.
Hooray for you! And Hooray for Thunder!!! I am so glad he got such a loving home!
I love Thunder’s story! I’m so glad he has recovered so well from such a rocky beginning and is a happy & healthy kitty now. Bless you!
What’s up there? FUZZ
FUZZ and Lightning
Triumph of modern medicine FUZZ
What an awesome story!!! and thunder is a beauty! Yaaa for Thunder and much applause to you and your efforts and committment to save lil Thunder. You will be blessed ten fold!
Great story and sweet kitten!
Thank you for sharing him and his story with us–Bless you for saving him, and a pox on the neighbor! Hoping he continues to improve–with your love he will thrive.
He’s a real sweetie and so are you for taking him in.
What a cute fuzz.
Lovely, lovely story, thank you so much for sharing it with us! – Thunder is gorgeous
What an uplifting story to accompany such a sweet kitty! Well written I must say! Thank you for brightening our day!!
He’s gorgeous! He looks very much like my cat (my avatar).
He is a very Handsome boy.
What a beautiful kitten and story as well. I thank God everyday for wonderful loving people like you who are willing to save the lives of lost and unwanted kitties. Praying many blessings for you and Thunder for a long and joyous life together.
I can’t help wondering what Thunder is so entranced by! He is such a cute little guy, thank you for helping him live to see it!
Hello Thunder! You are very cute!! I am so sorry to hear that you went through a tough time before with fleas. I am so happy to hear that you are healthy now! I love the name Thunder! Thank you for sharing him with us!
Good evening, everybody–thank you for the warm welcome for Thunder, KatKat, and me!
(btw: he WAS looking at the ceiling fan; he’s still fascinated by it…at times, he leaps up to try to jump on one of the blades; thankfully, he can’t quite master six vertical feet…yet).
I thought that perhaps you’d enjoy a few of the furkids’ current pictures:
Here, he is, all “grown up”
–
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i303/blonderengel/thundercloseupinlivingroomv3.jpg
Here, he is, being the summer course mascot:
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i303/blonderengel/Copyof100_0471-1.jpg
Here’s KatKat chillin’ in the kat tree:
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i303/blonderengel/100_0665.jpg
While, a few feet away, Thunder rested on a dining room chair:
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i303/blonderengel/100_0665.jpg
Well, that does it. I couldn’t resist registering any longer, after reading that story and seeing the updated photos.
Gorgeous handsome Thunder! And KatKat too.
I’d love to see the photo of Thunder ‘a few feet away’ – looks like a duplicate of KatKat there.
Sure glad there are people out there who really love these little ones.