Twinkie’s story
Twinkie’s Blue Cross story begins when her mother ‘Kitty’ found herself in our care.
Twinkie’s back story
Kitty was just eight months old when we picked her up and headed to the vet clinic for her routine check, just like all the other cats we care for, only to everyone’s surprise, it was discovered that Kitty was in fact an expectant mum!
So we sorted out a plan pretty quickly to make sure Kitty had the best support she needed, being so vulnerable and so young. As she was only halfway through her pregnancy, one of our Animal Carers, Sherrie volunteered to take her home and keep her comfortable for the few weeks prior to the arrival of her babies.
On the 20th of April, Kitty gave birth to not two, not three, but six little kittens much to our utter shock – along came Fudge, Mintie, Toffee, Tingle, Twirl and Twinkie!
As the kittens got bigger, it became clear that the very young and petite Kitty was struggling to produce enough milk for 6 hungry little mouths. And so, the Blue Cross team, along with Dr. Jess from the vet clinic, worked together to take turns taking Twinkie and one of her siblings home and fed her through a tiny syringe every hour. After two weeks of this, and despite our very best efforts and Twinkie beginning to eat solid food by herself, it was obvious that her tiny kitten body was struggling to grow.
Twinkie’s diagnosis
As her siblings were beginning to run and climb and play, Twinkie seemed to spend most of her time sleeping and watching her siblings from a comfy spot. This is when we decided that we needed to investigate further. After running some tests, little Twinkie was diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism. In short, this means that she was born with an over-active thyroid gland, and as a consequence, has acquired dwarfism. This dwarfism causes a few complications to Twinkie’s growth and development, including the proper growth of her bones.
Since her diagnosis, Miss Twinkie has been on a medication that she will need for life that ensures that her thyroid works as it should, and has been lucky enough to have been fostered by our dedicated CEO Vicki for the last three months. It has taken a lot of hard work and dedication on her behalf to get Twinkie functioning as a five-month-old kitten should.
Twinkie’s progress
Vicki and Twinkie have physio sessions morning and night, every day to stimulate her leg growth and to get her little joints moving. She’s placed special Twinkie stairs all through the house and her office at work to fine-tune her motor skills and get the little lady’s brain working on how to climb and problem solve as young cats do, and even had to syringe Twinkie water multiple times a day until she was four and a half months old as her body had not yet begun to recognise its’ need for it.
All this diligence is certainly paying off, and following a recent checkup, Dr. Jess assures us that Twinkie’s thyroid levels are looking great and she’s well on her way to being ready for adoption! After receiving such great news, and almost five months of knowing only the luxury of an indoor life, Twinkie decided that she was ready to broaden her horizons and venture out into the big wide world! So, we purchased her a tiny little kitten harness and took the big leap into the outdoors.
As you can imagine, this was a lot for a little girl to process but Twinkie – taking after her outgoing and spunky mum – came around in no time and was strutting around the shelter, pouncing on crunchy leaves, and swatting at hanging flowers in her path. This stimulation has been amazing for both the development of her little mind and the growth of her hips (which has been a little bit behind where it should be) and we’re very much looking forward to being able to witness little Twinkie being able to move on from her life at Blue Cross and live a fulfilling and enriching life in a future forever home.
Support us so we can continue to support animals like Twinkie
Through the invaluable support of our dedicated community, we have been able to provide Twinkie with the critical care that without which, her survival would’ve been unlikely. Now a spunky and confident young cat with a bright future ahead, Twinkie couldn’t be more grateful!
Make a difference to the lives of animals in our care like Twinkie today so that we can continue to provide the crucial care they need for years to come.
