Beautiful one-eyed Catty B is such a confident bundle of purring energy he has earned two names from us at Ten Lives. His foster humans Aneeka and Daniel soon gave him the nickname ‘Curious George’ because of his irrepressible energetic curiosity.
He is so bright and inquisitive, you wouldn’t think he’s just been through surgery to remove an eye. Catty B is enthusiastically recovering from his surgery, and we at Ten Lives are stoked with his progress and really proud of the fabulous care our volunteers have provided along the way.
Tiny Catty B was found with his litter mate, Hugh Catman, at a business premises in suburban Hobart and brought in to Ten Lives in May, aged just five weeks. They both needed to regain their strength, so they were placed in the loving care of our dedicated foster carers Aneeka and Daniel. Unfortunately Catty’s little brother had some serious health problems and had to be euthanised, but Catty went from strength to strength. With flea and worm treatments and regular gentle eye cleanses, he grew into a complete mischief maker and the biggest smoocher.
It soon became clear that Catty had eyelid problems and that his most difficult challenge was yet to come. Our Ten Lives Vet diagnosed bilateral eyelid agenesis (pronounced ‘ay-jen-e-sis’) – a congenital condition that causes the upper eyelids to not form properly. Little Catty B had signs of it in both eyes, but his right eye was the worst.
“It’s a relatively rare condition,” said Ten Lives Vet, Ruth, “we don’t see it much and we see lots of kittens.”
If left untreated, eyelid agenesis can cause long-term irritation of the affected cat’s cornea and this – as well as being painful – eventually results in infection and serious corneal damage because blinking is incomplete and also because hairs continually drag across the cornea. Our vets found that the condition in Catty’s left eye was mild but in his right eye, two-thirds of Catty’s upper eyelid was missing, there was inflammation, incomplete closure, and the tissue in the area of the missing eyelid was adhering to his eye. To prevent him from experiencing worsening symptoms due to not being able to blink properly and pain from his fur rubbing on his eye surface, Catty was scheduled for surgery to remove his right eye on July 12.
For his first post-operative vet welfare check, one of Catty’s foster humans, Daniel, brought him in to Ten Lives. Taller, stronger, and sporting a protective neck collar, Catty purred his way through Ruth’s vet check and the removal of one of his sutures and trimming of the others, without batting his (other) eyelid!
“He’s playful and energetic, you wouldn’t know he was missing one eye,” said Daniel, “He is super confident and loves heights. He jumps up on our bench, table, plants and the top of his tall scratching pole.”
“If there was ever a foster kitten we’d like to keep, it’s Catty B,” Daniel said.
“He is incredibly active and playful with zero inhibitions,” said Aneeka, the other half of Catty’s foster parent couple, “Everything in sight is a new adventure. He is confident and cheeky, but when it’s time to nap, Catty B wants to snuggle in close and have lots of cuddles. He adores humans.”
“We believe Catty B would absolutely love going for walks to stimulate his curiosity. If you want to adopt a kitten for harness walks, he is absolutely the one! He would also love to spend time in an outdoor enclosure. With a slow introduction, he may be suited to a home where he shares his space with another four-legged friend of the dog or cat variety,” Aneeka said.
Catty B has overcome his difficulties with flying colours and he is one of the most lively, confident and affectionate kitties we’ve had at Ten Lives recently. If you want to be his new human, keep your eye – or both of them – on our adoption pages here.
As a V.E.T.S. Club member it is your subscription that allows the Ten Lives vet team to provide the much needed care that these cats received. So, thank you.
Words and images by Sue Medlock, Ten Lives Creative Team