Bowie's story - something close to a miracle

First day at our home

Bowie was a mere kitten when he joined our family. My little man and I stumbled upon him early April 2014, when doing some groceries at a nearby market that sells homegrown veg. He was sitting there, meowing like either he was in pain or he got stuck, in-between some pallets. It took some examining before I realised there was something pretty wrong with his hind limbs.

Since no one in the neighbourhood seemed to know him, and people told us lots of kittens were dumped here - and inevitably got run over by speeding traffic - we decided to take him home with us. He was still such a wee little kitten, so he fitted perfectly in little man's school bag (which at the time was kind of wee as well, since little man then was merely 4).

First day at our home

The kitten looked ill and was flee-ridden. He was skinny but not apathic, luckily. He just was so tired, and thirsty, and hungry. He meowed while in the back, and squiermed to get out. I had the bag strapped around my chest, so I could hold it close to me, keep it warm in my jacket. It was quite an exciting bicylce trip, I remember. Little man was behind me in the kiddie's seat, asking about the kitty, if it was still okay,

At home, we gave him soft food, bit by bit, because we didn't want to make him nauseous. He seemed very grateful, relieved even. His purring sounded weird and he had this sqeaky voice, like it got jammed in his throat somehow, but he was really lovable.

Bowie, 2nd day of homecoming

He quickly learned where the litter box was but he couldn't get there in time: he crawled with his fore paws, while his hind paws sort of lingered. He peed where he sat and was really really pitiful.

The vet, who we saw immediately the next day, examined him and told us he wouldn't make it till his first birthday. he looked so bad, so ill, so deprived of anything that she wondered how he made it this far at all. Any day later and we would have found him lying dead there, between the pallets at the veg market.

After looking closely at eyes and teeth, she estimated he was almost 4 months old and decided his birthday was Dec. 25th.
She suggested we take a look at his pelvis when it was time for his neutering, so he wouldn't need full anesthetics twice. But she warned us not to get too excited, because this kitty was in a really bad shape.

Our other five cats were not as fond of this newcomer. Certainly not at first. Our Spook, a Norwegian Forester who does not well with change and stressful events, regarded him with hissing and spitting and growling. Tiger smacked him but only of he got too close. Sayath smacked him no matter how expanded the personal space was. Patches stayed out of his way. Troel was curious enough but watched him from afar.

Tiger with Bowie,3 days after arrival.

Since then quite a lot has changed. Bowie made it to his first birthday. And his 2nd. And now almost his 3rd. The Xray that was taken when he was neutered, showed a badly healed hip fracture, which causes him pain and difficulty jumping heights and climbing trees.

Last year he did in fact still climb the alder tree pretty often. This year not so much. Seems like he is in more pain than he will show, as is often the case with felines. He still races around like a little turbo car, chasing flies and chasing Patches and Troel. He loves to be around in the garden, of which he was so afraid at first, that he stood there waiting with his tail between his legs, till the stress got the better of him and he swooshed back indoors.

The biggest issue at this moment though is his allergies. He suffers from a dermatological problem that casues raisin-like rash around hus troat and chest. He is on cortisone for almost 2 years now. We managed to lower the dose but he cannot do without the meds. Which is a bad thing, for 1. he is hungry almost all the time because of it, 2. I have to keep an eye on his urinating, since cortisone is not kidney-friendly. And 3. because of the cortison, I caanot give him any painrelief for his hip. But so far so good. He takes his meds without any problem and he is ever so grateful every time he gets his soft food.

Today, little Bowie has grown into quite a darling cat. He is sensitive to stress and some foods, and he loves to play and fight with the other cats - who still are not that fond of him, it would seem, but they can all snuggle up in the bed or next to me, and all is well. In the morning, he meows very attentively and purrs at the same time, which is a very nice way of waking up. In fact - why would I bother setting the alarm, when I  have this miracle kitten? :-)