Taylor's Story & Pictures

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Taylor's Story

Here is the story of my little baby angel, Taylor.

On June 16, 2008 I was at work like any other Monday. A co-worker who does animal rescue on the side came into my office with this adorable little kitten in a cardboard box. A neighbor had called him to let him know that he'd found this little stray kitten all by himself near a dumpster in the Meadowlands/Giants Stadium Complex, seemingly having been abandoned by his mother. My co-worker brought him to work knowing that it wouldn't be difficult to place this little cutie. I knew I wanted him from the minute I saw him. He was simply too cute to resist. I love cats, and have had cats in the past but didn't have any right now because according to my lease agreement, I'm really now allowed to. But for this lil' guy, I was willing to take the risk. My landlord remains clueless thankfully, but when he finds out, I guess we'll just have to move.

Anyway, I took him to a veterinarian that same day to make sure that he was okay. At only 8 ounces and approximately 4 weeks old, he was just fine. All bloodwork and stool samples came back clean. He was deemed perfectly healthy and I was so relieved. At my office, my co-workers and I had originally labeled him as a girl with the name, Meadow (since "she" was found at the Meadowlands). However, the vet cleared that right up, noticing that she was in fact a he, but he was so young that his testicles hadn't dropped yet. Haha. Not a problem, we renamed him keeping with the theme of where he was found, this time going with the Giants theme. His new name, Taylor, as in Lawrence Taylor, of course.

He couldn't walk very well, but he was just a little tiny baby thing. He was shaky, but that was to be expected because it was quite the eventful day for him. He was clearly scared. When the vet gave him some wet kitten food, he made a huge mess, eating frantically - as he also did when I fed him early in the day in my office - but again, this was to be expected as we weren't sure how long he was alone or when his last meal was.

About a week and a half later I couldn't help but start to worry about Taylor. I knew he was no longer scared. He loves to cuddle and be held. He purrs more than any other cat I've ever known and is just a generally happy cat and clearly comfortable with his new living arrangements. But he was still so shaky, constantly looking as if he was either cold or scared, and I knew he was neither of those two things. He was still having significant trouble walking, taking a few steps and then either falling flat or falling to the side as if he'd suddenly lost his balance. He was still eating frantically and making a huge mess. Every time he ate he would kind of peck at his food and nearly throw his whole face in his dish. He ate like he wasn't sure if he was going to eat again. But after being fed every four hours for the past week and a half, he had to realize that more food would always come. He just wasn't acting like a normal kitten. So I decided to see what I could find on the interne t. It was only a few clicks before I realized that Taylor definitely had CH. He fit every single criteria. I was so upset. I sat at the computer with Taylor sleeping on my lap and I just cried as I read about it and watched videos of other CH kitties. The more I read, the less upset I was, realizing that he's not in pain and that he can & will still lead a long, healthy life. But it still makes me so sad to see him struggle.

I make things as easy as possible for him, but some things are just inevitable. He's always been extremely good about using his litter box, though once he's in there he still hasn't quite figured out how to position himself without falling over. Poor lil' guy has suffered through many a bath after accidentally making a mess of himself while just trying to go to the bathroom. He still pecks at his food and makes a huge mess while eating, sometimes falling face first right into his food dish. And for some reason, his drinking skills are even worse. He seems to have some problems with depth perception, so I don't think he realizes how close he is to the water, and by the time he realizes it, he's lost his balance and ends up with water up his nose. He loves to play, and is working on his pounce, but he usually pounces a few inches left or right of where he intends to. He seems to prefer to lay on his back and have me dangle the toy over him so he can bat at it. He has such a great lit tle personality. He's only 7 weeks old now, so he's still learning how to cope with his condition, but all in all, he's doing great in that regard. He unfortunately spent 2 days/nights in the kitty emergency room last weekend for a still undiagnosed illness, but he's home now and with the help of a couple medications, he's bouncing back from that too. He's my little baby angel. I can't tell you the joy that this cat has brought into my life in the 3 short weeks I've had him so far. He is truly a special little kitty. I'm blessed to have him.

~Amanda Marcino, proud mommy of Taylor (L.T.) Marcino, my baby angel

Pictures of Taylor

The first one is Taylor eating his first meal on my desk at my office on the day I got him

The second one is me holding him in my hands as he sleeps...he's so tiny!

The third one is Taylor sleeping behind my neck..one of his favorite spots.

The fourth one is Taylor in his favorite play-time position.

The fifth one is just Taylor, hanging out.