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Guestbook Slate's StoryI have worked for a veterinarian’s office for the past three years. We had one client that was literally overrun with cats. She was always bringing some in to be spayed, neutered, or just to pick up antibiotics since they all tended to have upper respiratory infections. One day she brought in a pregnant female that had been in labor for two days without results. She wanted it spayed and the kittens put to sleep. When we did the c-section we found out there were only two kittens in the litter. Being the softies that we are, we decided to keep them and care for them. The two kittens got passed around from employee to employee since they had to be fed around the clock. They were christened "Daniel" (who would later be Slate) and "Nathaniel". They both were doing well up until around two weeks of age. They had both been getting eye medication for the URI’s they had but seemed otherwise healthy. Nathaniel started to get fussy about eating and rapidly went downhill. For two days we tried everything to get him to eat, but he refused. He lost weight and could barely hold his head up. That afternoon he started breathing rapidly and laboriously. It was my watch, so I rushed him down to work for the vet to assess. She looked at him and checked his vital signs, which weren’t good. We collectively decided to euthanize him, since he was so young and not likely to improve. It was sad, but we didn’t want him to suffer anymore. I now diverted all my attention to "Daniel". At this point I was keeping him more often than the other girls, so I decided (with quite a bit of begging to my husband from me) that I would keep him. I didn’t want to call him the name that rhymed with his brother, so we struck upon Slate for his grey coat. He was a little slow as far as learning the ropes, (I had to build little steps up to his litter box) but I didn’t pay much attention to it. I figured he was just having trouble adjusting to my 3-year-old cat and the loss of his brother. Around four months of age we began to notice he had trouble standing upright and walking. He would race down the hall and use the wall to keep himself from falling over. The vet diagnosed him with CH, but pointed out he had a good home and would live a relatively normal and long life. At this point, it didn’t matter; he was a part of the family. I don’t think I would have responded differently had I known from day one. Slate is now 2 ½ years old, and adjusted well. He is such a dear! He is a fairly mild case from what I have read about these kitties. I think having my older cat helped a lot, since he showed him how to do many things. And aside from Slate’s overt curiosity, which has gotten him into trouble! In December he had to have abdominal surgery from eating a two-foot long ribbon and he jammed his tail falling off the bed once. He got into the dryer once unbeknownst to my husband and went around for a few spins before we could open the door. If he looks up at the ceiling he falls over and he has this hilarious thing he does with his leg when he sits. He’ll sit down and then cock his left leg out an extra few inches…we call it his "kickstand". He used to have an aggressive streak a mile wide and almost came close to euthanasia when he was biting my other cat’s neck so hard he cut off his air supply and almost killed him. I had to pry him off several times. We solved that by getting a natural flea collar that had pennyroyal and eucalyptus in it. He did NOT like the taste of that! He was also (front) declawed when he was neutered at 4 ½ months of age, since he didn’t know the proper way to use his claws and would wound Wembley often. (Wembley is also declawed in the front). He has calmed considerably, and is well adjusted. Everyone just loves him! He IS quite amusing I have to say. Many people have asked me if I feed him too much catnip! Besides the fact he can’t jump over two feet high (he gets on the bed by climbing on a child’s chair, the nightstand, and finally, the bed), he chirps instead of meows (unless he’s on the way to the vet…then he finds his voice!) and falls over a lot. He likes to put his arms straight up in the air until you pick him up, just like a small child. He also runs with his high stepping gait, which we refer to as his Hitler walk. And many times he has gotten excited about seeing a bird out the window and fallen off the couch! He has good humor about it and most times just shakes his head and tries again. I wouldn’t trade my special kitty for the world and am glad I have this exceptional cat in my life!
Jenny Pictures of SlateSlate at 3½ months old (He's the grey one) 6/97 Slate with one of his favorite toys 10/99 Slate with his "Kickstand" 10/99
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