Young, Manx kitten Cecily has stayed sweet and brave, despite what she’s had to overcome in her short life.
Photo Courtesy of Samantha Person, Exe. Dir. of The Cattery Cat Shelter
The young girl was brought to The Cattery Cat Shelter in Corpus Christi, Texas in May of 2018. She arrived with her 2 brothers. All 3 siblings were Manx kittens and didn’t even have a HINT of a tail.
Both brothers had none of the birth defects Cecily was showing and were later adopted out together.
Poor Cecily though, was suffering from “Manx Syndrome”.
According to vetinfo.com, they explain that this is:
“A spinal disorder that can occur as a result of the genetic mutation that causes taillessness. In Manx Syndrome, the tail winds up too short, leading to often fatal spinal defects. Fused vertebrae, gaps between vertebrae and spina bifida. Symptoms appear between birth and four months of age.”
Little Cecily’s back legs flopped around uncontrollably and often ended up behind her ears!
They didn’t seem to be in the way of anything, other than sometimes getting stuck behind her head, so the first decision was to leave them.
She was also incontinent and the staff were working on outfits to keep her diaper in place.
Unfortunately she started chewing on her feet, causing horrific sores.
Photo Courtesy of Samantha Person, Exe. Dir. of The Cattery Cat Shelter
Their vet wanted to try controlling this with medication. It worked for awhile, but the vet didn’t want her on this medication long term.
Sadly, as soon as the medication ended, she started chewing on her feet again.
The decision was made that amputation was the best for her.
Cecily made it through surgery successfully, now no longer having to deal with “wild” legs hindering her movement.
She just recently healed up from that surgery, and they are back to square one for outfits.
Without back legs, the diapers won’t stay on her at all.
The Cattery have a volunteer that is altering onesies and other type outfits to see what works, because traditional items have failed.
They are going to use cloth diapers to be more environmentally conscious. (The shelter had another cat in the past, Virginia, that was incontinent and wore regular diapers.)
The next outfit will be a harness that is attached to (the equivalent of) a drag bag. They are hopeful this will work and she is tolerating the harness part much more than the onesie.
“Even though she was adorbs in her onesies!”
Photo Courtesy of Samantha Person, Exe. Dir. of The Cattery Cat Shelter
Samantha Person, Executive Director at the shelter, tells us Cecily has always been super sweet and loves to give kisses.
“She has definitely been our princess and has a tiny bit of an attitude. She gets two baths a day (regular or baby wipes, depending) and is a bit snarky and grumbly during the process! But as soon as it’s over, she’s all purrs, kisses and loves.”
Their shelter is happily cage free and she has been transitioning to the Teenager room for cats 4 months to 1-year-old.
Up until now, she has always been in the lobby with the employees. The 7-month-old is ready for some feline fun time though!
Cecily is making sure everyone knows she is boss out in the room!
She’s been around other cats in the lobby (but in crates) and she’s even played with other cats through the crates.
But due to her surgery and recovery periods, she hasn’t played one-on-one with any felines since her brothers.
Right now she is still in her crate in the room and has supervised time out to play.
She’s getting a little better each day, which in cat language means she didn’t try to murder anyone, just some light hissing! LOL
They’re confident that she’ll soon be out and about with the other cats.
Photo Courtesy of Samantha Person, Exe. Dir. of The Cattery Cat Shelter
Recent posts of a couple of videos and a picture of her on their Facebook page, led to the obvious suggestion.
Many people have commented she needs a kitty wheel chair.
They were happy to explain why this brave and feisty girl is thriving without additional equipment.
Because she’s never had use of her back legs, she gets around really well with just her front legs.
When she gets moving really fast, her butt doesn’t even touch the floor!
She’s not a dog that would benefit from going on walks or longer distances where a wheel chair would be helpful.
If they put her in one, she would be forced to stand on her front two legs and wouldn’t be able to roll over and play.
And she loves to roll on her back and play with toys!
So until Cecily is ready for her fur-ever home, she will continue to spread her love to all at The Cattery Cat Shelter.
If you would like to learn more about Cecily or the amazing work they do, please visit their website and Facebook page.
Their mission is a heartwarming one FUR sure. Without their dedication, Cecily wouldn’t be with us today, bringing smiles to everyone she meets!
“The Cattery offers an alternative to traditional animal shelters in providing a no-kill, cage-free haven for homeless, abused, or abandoned cats. From there, we seek permanent, loving homes for these animals.”
“In addition, our organization promotes public awareness regarding the value of animals and their welfare, the dangers of pet overpopulation, and the benefit of quality human-animal companionship.“
Photo Courtesy of Samantha Person, Exe. Dir. of The Cattery Cat Shelter
REMEMBER: ADOPT, DON’T SHOP & SPAY AND NEUTER!
Related Story: Kitten Undergoes Lifesaving Surgery After Being Beaten With Baseball Bat!
Related Story: Rescued from the Middle of the Street and After a Devastating Loss; One Cat Now Enjoys Life How it’s Meant to be!
What an amazing Kitty. She’s so beautiful and sweet. I just want to cuddle her. I could just luv her forever.
the 1977 Grand Champion American Manx had this syndrome, and could neither urinate or defecate by himself, but because he was Grand Champ, he was bred lots!! (some breeders and judges are just too weird!) #smallanimalveterinarian