Hijiki   [Id:19ban, NPO Catnip, Fukuoka ]
Background
Stray animal, found injured.
Data-Sheet
Sex:Female [neutered]
Character:Affectionate / love cuddles
Experience Level:Experienced with cats
Compatibility:Prefer to be by self
Hair Length:Short hair
Hair Shedding:Doesn't shed much
Came to CATNIP:2016/10/07
On Website Since:2016/10/08
Status: FeLV  [ negative ]
FIV   [ negative ]
Age: approx. 7 years, 9 months, 5 days ~ 7 years, 9 months, 19 days as of today.
About ...
What can we say about Hijiki that does not involve words of four letters of Anglo Saxon origin?

She is - trying... But we are fond of her. [There! "Fond" - that's got four letters....]

She was found as a kitten walking along a railway line, and brought to us.

She has - probably - CH - cerebellar hypoplasia, or something similar. Part of the brain does not develop properly - often due to malnutrition in the womb or just after birth - leading to a whole range of conditions.

She does not walk in a straight line - she has a weaving gait - and appears to have limited control over her emotions. She will attack other cats from behind. Black socks on little pasty white English feet were her particular enemy - and her bites were deep. She likes to curl up and sleep with people - she is a sociable girl - but may suddenly decide they are a threat to her and attack their face.

There is a case - a strong case, that we considered at some length - for euthanising such cats. They are not easily rehomable, they may have very limited quality of life, and they may be dangerous. [Literally - we ended each month with 6 or 7 sets of fresh puncture marks - on one occasion, I had her by the back legs, pulling hard, stretched out horizontally, as her front end was very firmly attached by her teeth to my nose. Very funny to look at: a bit less funny if you are the owner of the nose... Deep cat bites are no picnic.]

As a kitten she had been a bit odd, but very friendly, sociable and super affectionate. We made videos in good faith saying how sweet she was. By the time it became clear that she was not actually safe to rehome, she was already vaccinated, spayed and chipped.

So: we put euthanasia on the table - the far end of the table - as a last option, but resolved first to see what we could do to give her quality of life and make her safe. Long discussions with the vet. Drugs are one option - and we tried them for a while. Her behaviour became a little better, but she still wasn't safe around people - and we felt the drugs were just doping her up rather than actually helping her stay calm. Not so much helping her order and control her inner life as removing that inner life altogether. A chemical cosh. Overall, not much quality of life for her, or, frankly, for us as she was still prone to biting.

After more discussion with the vet, and as a last resort before euthanasia - we decided to have her teeth removed. This is something we do with cats who have very bad mouth ulcers that won't heal - and we know that cats can live perfectly happily without teeth and their condition often improves greatly. We felt bad about removing healthy teeth, but she was dangerous, and we were out of options. Removing the teeth would at least make her safe, allow her to be around people, and give her time to grow out of some of her problems.

That was about 4 and a half years ago. She is still with us. She has calmed down a bit, with humans, and will curl up with me when given the chance.

It isn't ideal for a shelter to have too many cats like that of course. Feeding her is an ongoing financial burden, and the money could be spent on other animals. Not every cat we take is in perfect health - and some, like Hijiki, can be very challenging - but we do the best we can for them as individuals.

Now Hijiki has something resembling a decent quality of life. And that is enough for us to keep her.

She will probably be with us permanently.
Feeding a cat at our shelter costs about ¥2000 / month. Can you help? [About online fostering]
Click here to see 11 good reasons to adopt a cat from CATNIP!
1: Convenience
We will bring up to 3 cats to you in your home at a time convenient to you, including weekends, public holidays and evenings.

This lets you see the cat or cats before you decide to start a trial.

You don't have to select any of them - and we will give you plenty of time to get to know them before any trial starts.

We think it is better for you - and better for the cat - that you meet it in your home rather than at a noisy, busy cat transfer event.
2: Long trial period
We have a 3 week trial period (2 weeks for kittens) that can be extended on request. That gives enough time to find out whether this cat is right for you.

If you already have a cat it gives you time to introduce the two cats properly and make sure they get along.

If there are problems - or you just feel that the cat is not suitable - we will remove it within 24 hours, often sooner.
3: We give you support
We don't just dump animal off on you then disappear. For a trial we will bring a cage, a cat toilet and cat food. We will give you support by email and Line for as long as the cat is with you, even after you adopt it.
4: We usually know the cat
In most cases, we know the cat and will share that information with you as openly as we can.

Some cats are highly socialised and will (probably) take just a day or two to settle in. Others will require several weeks or even months. We will always tell you what to expect. [Oddly, the cats you have to work hardest with are often the ones who will ultimately form the strongest bond with you.]
5: We rehome to families
We think pets should be part of a child's life - even young children, with appropriate adult supervision. [Not every animal is suitable for a family with young children and we will want to meet the whole family before placing a cat with you.]
6: We rehome to foreigners
CATNIP's founding director is British. We are happy to rehome to foreigners and to people who will take the cat with them when they leave Japan.
7: We do a lot of TNR
Almost all our cats came to us because they were unwanted, dumped on the streets or kittens rescued during TNR activities. You are giving them a second chance.
8: We don't ask for a guarantor
Unless you are very elderly, we do not ask for a guarantor. Ultimately we are the guarantor for the cats we rehome.
9: We are open and clear about money
We will always tell you the transfer fee for each cat (a maximum of 20,000yen for a vaccinated, spayed, microchipped, virus-tested cat ) and we always give receipts.

This is payable only if the trial goes well and you decide to keep the cat.

CATNIP is run by volunteers. No-one is paid. All income goes straight back into cat welfare.
10: We speak human, in several languages...
We don't just like animals, we [quite] like people too! We - emphatically - do not do moral or emotional blackmail or try to make you feel bad.

People who adopt from us tell us that they thought the process was smooth and easy.
11: The cat's the client
... and in practice that means we really want you to love him or her and for the placement to work for both of you. So if you are having difficulties with one of our animals, get in touch.