Smashbomb

Kira: sweet, sassy, and in between. I adopted her in March 2008. While my boyfriend was making a purchase at PetSmart near closing time. I wandered into the adoption area to check out the kitties. One of ours passed away 6 months before and we were heartbroken, as was that kitty's best friend and we'd been looking for a friend for her. As I walked past the cages of kittens, I stopped to open their cages to pet and talk to each one but didn't feel a connection to any of them. Then I got to the last cage. I saw a lovely tabby and unclasped the cage. She pushed the cage open with her head and immediately climbed into my arms, burying her head on my shoulder and purring loudly in my ear. My heart melted and I knew she was the one. She was 3 -1/2 years old and had lived in foster care for 3 years, spending every weekend in a cage at PetSmart. Due to the fear, loneliness, and anxiety, she experienced anorexia and had to be force-fed during the week, so she was overweight and had fatty liver disease. I wanted to take her home with me that second by the adoption agent was gone for the day so I had to wait until the next weekend to adopt her. I cried all week imagining her loneliness and stressful living condition. When I went back to adopt her, I took her on a shopping spree so she could pick out her favorite bed, toys, foods, and treats, then brought her home.

A few years after I adopted her, she had a stroke due to a cerebral hemorrhage. I heard her cry out and immediately ran to her. Her eyes could not focus and we're rolling around in her head. I scooped her up in my arms and drove her to the vet, calling them, them my boyfriend to let them know what was going on and that we were on our way there. Along with the brain bleed, she has vestibular syndrome, which makes her world look a little askew so she has a permanent head tilt, which makes her look adorable and gives her a cute walk. She had undiagnosed high blood pressure, which led to the stroke, so she takes medication to treat it. She had difficulty walking and jumping so I did physical therapy at home with her to make it easier for her. I put a wedge-shape physical therapy pillow on the floor at the foot of the bed that she could use it as a ramp so she could get on the bed whenever she wanted to snuggle.

Kira is incredibly sweet and is an absolute darling. She loves to lie in my lap and can be rather insistent about it. She's also demanding when she wants to be fed her canned food at night. There is always 3 types of Iam's dry food available for her but she loves her Fancy Feast at night. Between her fatty liver disease and vestibular disease, she develops nausea if her tummy is empty so the vet recommends keeping her well-fed. Kira approves of that advice.