When we first met Blackmore and Blue Ridge, the pair of kittens hid whenever humans approached their shelter cage. More worryingly, Blackmore’s medical records had three words that broke our hearts: Failure to thrive.
At the shelter, Blackmore was half the size of his sister, Blue Ridge, even though they were born at the same time. Since both kittens were terrified of humans, we brought them to Cat Town to help them learn that humans are safe. That’s when we noticed that Blackmore seemed to struggle when he tried to eat, wasn’t gaining weight, and was having seizures.
“Blackmore’s medical records had three words that broke our hearts: Failure to thrive. ”
This tiny, fuzzy black kitten was having a tough time. He was so scared of people that the stress of seeing a human seemed to exacerbate his seizures. Our volunteers worked to help socialize Blue Ridge, and we hoped that by watching her make progress, Blackmore would feel more safe — but his seizures continued, sometimes more than once a week. We knew that if we couldn’t get them under control, he wouldn’t be able to have a good quality of life.
We took him to the vet, where his initial blood work seemed normal, but a follow up from a neurologist indicated that his liver could be deformed, and not receiving enough blood flow. Surgery to treat such a condition is not only costly and difficult — it might not even work. After two months in our care, he hadn’t gained an ounce of weight, while his sister was growing as expected. Blue Ridge was a constant visual reminder of how small this boy still was.
Next, our team got Blackmore to a veterinary specialist, who put him on anti-seizure medication, and ordered additional tests to help us figure out exactly what this little one needs. We also moved the two kittens into a quiet foster home with one of the volunteers who had been working to help them learn to trust humans. With his new medication, and change of environment, Blackmore suddenly crossed wonderful milestones! Blackmore’s seizures are now few and far between. He also began gaining weight — nearly 2 pounds so far — and loves stealing bites of sandwich from his foster dad.
And his progress continues: in just a few weeks, Blackmore transitioned from climbing up the side of his cat tree to leaping onto it, like a regular, playful kitten. Blue Ridge stopped hiding, and started sleeping in bed with her foster family. Both kittens have become sweet and snuggly under the care of their foster — even sniffing the resident dog with curiosity — and are growing strong, and brave.
There are so many places that this story could have ended early. Black cats still have trouble getting adopted. Scared kittens have few resources outside of Cat Town. Bonded pairs often get separated. Kittens with medical records like Blackmore’s don’t always get a chance to thrive. It’s easy to understand how someone might see these two, and think that Blackmore maybe wouldn’t make it. That his body might not be strong enough to help him overcome the odds.
Blackmore’s not out of the woods yet, but we have lots of hope for this little one. Thanks to you.
We never would have been able to get Blackmore the medical support he needed without donations to our Emergency Medical Fund, which is how we’re paying for his vet trips, lab work, and anti-seizure medicine. We could not have helped him and his sister learn to trust people without our amazing volunteers, who worked carefully to win this pair over without causing Blackmore needless stress.
We hope you know that we appreciate the difference you’ve made. Your support is a gift to us all.
From all of us at Cat Town, we wish you a joyous and safe holiday season.