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At Blistered Whiskers, all of our kitties are special, but some have a more colorful background than others. These are the stories of the extra special kitties that arrived broken and have now been fixed thanks to the wonderful donors and volunteers at Blistered Whiskers (pictures to be posted soon!):
VINNIE
BWI TNR volunteers managed to trap Vinnie and his four siblings in a small neighborhood backyard alley with nets and bare hands! We were told the wild kittens were 2-3 weeks ols, when actually we soon discovered they were at least double that age and running quite fast from inborn fear of humans. While trapping in the dark, we never suspected anything unusual about these kittens, other than they wore us out! Once the entire litter was caught ( mamma had already been successfully TNR'd the week before), we loaded up and returned to the intake shelter to get a better look at our successful evening. Vinnie is a perfect little buff red tabby that loves playing with his kitty-kat friends and napping with his human friends. Turns out Vinnie was actually missing two items that made him a little different than any other kitty at the shelter . . . his two back legs!
His back legs were stumps ending at the knee area. That night we learned one of the half legs was actually significantly longer than the other AND it ended with a sharp point, causing Vinnie significant pain. It was then Vinnie learned the art of walking on two legs, or "wheelbarrowing'" as we termed it. His upper body strength is phenomenol. However, with time, the bone began to stick through the skin again.
We all racked our brains researching any and every option, trying to make Vinnie more comfortable. After numerous veterinary consultations and a few orthopedic surgeons, even graveling with nationally known animal sanctuaries, one of our most trusted volunteers suggested we consider the services of Dr Kimmle at Academy West Animal Hospital, right down on 63rd Avenue and Bell Rd. As a team, we all agreed Dr Kimmle and his super talented assistant, Freddy, took care of Vinnie as if he were their own. The Dr trimmed Vinnie's longer bone down to match the size of the other, filed the end to a smooth surface and then used the extra leg skin to graft a pad of cushion to cover the smooth blunted end (that same end that used to look like the end of a sharp pencil). Lucky for Blistered Whiskers and for Vinnie, our very special Angel Donor paid for Vinnie's surgery. How did he get so lucky? Good karma in a past life perhaps? :)
 11 MAR 2010: Vinnie is now recovering, and his leg is healing perfectly, but unfortunately his other leg is now having the same problem as the leg that was just operated on. Stay tuned for Vinnie's next surgery, he's due back in a few weeks.
26 MAR 2010: Vinnie has just completed his final leg surgery. He is quietly recovering in his adoptive home with new parents Avril and Rob! We are hoping for an update directly from Vinnie's new home in the near future.
Can you help Vinnie get on his feet??
If you want to help Vinnie, please click the "paypal" button to the right. Write "Vinnie" when given a chance to write a message, you can also click on the "donations" tab on the left side of the page if you prefer to write a check. All donations will go directly to Vinnie.
LIENNA
 Lienna was just days old when she arrived at born at Blistered Whiskers with the rest of her siblings. Not knowing any better, their caretaker had left them outdoors, under her trailer, abandoned by their mother and therefore unfed for at least 24 hrs by the time they arrived to BW. All of Lienna's five siblings died within the next 6 days. We held minimal hope for Lienna at that point, but she surprised us all! The volunteers first noticed something was odd about her when she was about 3 weeks old. It turns out her eyelashes were actually growing INWARD instead of outward. Can you imagine how much that must hurt? We took her to an eye specialist and he confirmed this to be true, but Lienna had to be at least 1 year old to have a special eyelid rebuilding surgery! In the meantime, Lienna has been living with a fabulous volunteer/foster parent counting the days until her surgery. This would also give us time to raise money for the roughly $3000 surgery! That is a lot of money to a non-profit rescue.
Recently we had the Petsmart PetWalk in which many volunteers raised awesome amounts of money by calling friends and family...and this funded more than half of her surgery! The other half was funded by a couple of significant Angel Donors! With the loving support of our donors, Lienna was able to get her surgery and is currently recovering, looking forward to having eyes that don't hurt when she blinks. She should be fully recovered by mid April of 2010 and on the adoption market by May, 2010. Photos below are from a little phone camera and therefore sort of blurry, but you can at least get an idea of the 50 plus blue stitches all around her eyes holding together just as many pieces of skin grafts to form her newly built eyelids! Please pray for success of her surgery and for her speedy recovery!
SPARROW
Captain Jack Sparrow showed up on Blistered Whiskers' doorstep soaking wet with what was left of his left eye hanging out of its socket. We are sure it was done by human tampering, and knew we had to fix him.
We took him to Freddy and Dr Kimmel who immediately fixed him up perfectly - no one really needs two eyes anyway right? Here is an update from the family he decided to adopt:
Ahoy Mateys,
I know it's just been a short time, but I am so excited to tell you how much I am enjoying my new voyage! When I first arrived on this vessel, the guest bunkroom was all mine. Everything I needed, my food, my toys, a nice blanket and of course my box were in a space larger than the vessel I'd been in for so long. I was quite overwhelmed.
The next day I was introduced to the rest of my new "ship" and then - here's the best part - that night and from then on I've been allowed to bunk with "my crew." I kept them awake most of the first two nights because I am so used to sleeping all day -- and because I'm the boss. After all, that's the pirate's life! But since then we've been playing more during the day, exploring new areas, and I follow them around the ship whenever they are about. They tell me over and over what a good pirate I am, and that earns me treats and a brushing once a day. I like to call it my "booty" time.
I wanted a scratch post (or mast), so I had to show them what I was capable of before they got me one. They quickly disappeared and the post quickly appeared in my bunk quarters. The portholes are low in this ship, so I can sit anywhere and stare at the open seas in safety. It is during those moments when I think and remember all of you so fondly. I also like to lie on my back and stretch until I am as long as I can be -- it amuses the crew.
I would send pictures, but I don't have thumbs. A crew member is typing for me now, and perhaps a crew member will also send photos very soon too.
Until then, this is your Cap'n Jack Sparrow signing off and sending many purrs.
PS - They haven't even noticed the patch -- and that amuses me.
Red Fred
Red Fred is a rather large red tabby,15 pounds of solid muscle. He came to Blistered Whiskers from a very nice lady who rescued him in the nick of time. The lady noticed a group of ferals being regularly fed by her neighbor. That is usually great, but she also noticed this neighbor was using the ferals for target practice. After a few failed trapping attempts, she was finally able to trap Red Fred. By that time, poor Fred had already suffered the consequences of obtaining meals from the hunter. He had a broken femur, was in obvious pain and was pretty angry with the whole human population. Luckily for Red Fred and Blistered Whiskers, an Angel Donor met him and decided to fund his entire surgery right there and then! We're pretty sure Red Fred had great karma to cross paths with our Angel Donor at just the right time.
Fred is now neutered, healthy, mending his leg, LOVING the indoor life, and best of all . . . he is incredibly greatful to all humans for saving him from a long, treacherous journey of homeless street life.
Red Fred is currently up for adoption. He is roughly 11 years old and would absolutely love to spend the rest of his days with a faithful human that won't hurt him. Email blisteredwhiskers@gmail.com if you're that special human.
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