About a month ago I was feeling that our cat Devin was a little lonely. Devin is a special needs cat who had both of his hip ball joints broken when he was younger. He gets around really well, but he has some mobility limitations so I wanted to get a friend for him that would be more on his level. I started looking on the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary's website to see if there was maybe a special needs kitty we could bring home that might be a good friend for Devin. The moment I saw Peachie's photo and bio I was in love. I read that she had Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH) and that she couldn't walk far without falling over. I also understood that she might have accidents while trying to make it to her litter box. I did not know very much about Cerebellar Hypoplasia and had to do some research to really understand what it was. I talked it over with my husband and we decided we could make a good home for Peachie. I decided to put in an adoption application to see if Best Friends would think we were a good adoption fit. When we were approved, my husband and I made the trip from Salt Lake City down to Angel Canyon to meet her. I was really excited just to go to Best Friends because I had never been there. As soon as we met Peachie we were smitten.

When we brought Peachie home, I had to make some adjustments to her living space to keep her from getting hurt. I set up her space in our family room which is really my workroom. I felt she needed a space of her own where I could keep our five dogs from bothering her too much. My workroom is in our basement and is the largest open space in our house. I bought a good quality pet gate to put at the bottom of the stairs so our dogs can see her but not overrun her space. Our family room opens up right at the bottom a short flight of stairs so Peachie can see everyone and everyone can see her. She seemed to settle in quickly and has been getting around her new space pretty well. I still cringe when she falls over hard; it is sometimes difficult for me to watch. I have tried to pad things as much as I can and give her a number of choices of play areas. She particularly seems to like her play cubes, play tunnels, and big cardboard boxes. Our other cat Devin has been pretty lukewarm to her so far, but I knew it would take him a while to adjust. He can be kind of a grump. Our dogs seem to like Peachie especially our little Pomeranian. Peachie can walk a little and seems to be very confident and independent. I think her experience at Best Friends helped her to feel confident and know that she can do things by herself. She doesn't really like to be helped much. I bought a spring bar-type mesh cat play tent for her and have started to put her in it outside. She seems to like being outside for small periods of time but, she is not nuts about being confined. She is always happy to roam around when I bring her back in the house. We love Peachie and I am learning more about CH and getting new ideas about things to do with Peachie all the time. We are so glad to have her as a member of our family. She is the sweetest kitty on earth.

The World According to Riley Dean:

Summertime - and the Living Can Be Easy  

By Riley Dean (with a little help from Mommy)

Hello all! Riley Dean here. It's summer! It's time to break out the strollers and chase dragonflies! I don't know about you, but we already had a ninety-degree weekend here. I love sunny days (well, while basking from my living room window), but sometimes super hot weather can be a drag. Here are a few tips for fun in the summertime, according to Riley Dean!

1. The Summer Haircut! I just got mine a couple of days ago. I am a long-haired cat, and sometimes it feels nice to lose that extra hair weight (even though I don't act like it's very nice while it's happening)! It also prevents mats, which are tangles of hair that are hard to cut out and very painful for your kitty! Depending on how much your CH-er minds getting a haircut, you may want to book an appointment with a groomer instead of doing it yourself.

My Mommy cuts my hair. She makes sure to check for mats, then cuts the extra mane around my face, around my middle, and especially around my bottom! This is also good because it prevents little "stowaway poops" that are especially common in long-haired cats and for those of us who have to lie down in the litterbox. So it keeps us clean while at the same time helping us beat the heat!

2. Make the Indoors an Oasis. Speaking of beating the heat, remember to keep your CH kitty feeling cool when the hot weather comes along. My grandma runs up her bill by leaving the AC on for us on hot days, but not everybody can do that. It's always good to leave space in cooler areas for us to nap in. This includes under beds, in closets, and in any other nice dark, low to the ground area.

Another easy and quick tip is to throw a couple of ice cubes in our water bowls. We love nice cold ice water on hot days too (and the ice gives us something to play with)!

Also, it's important to mention every year when summer rolls around: NEVER leave your kitty in the car with the windows up! It can get very hot very quickly. This goes for all little ones, feline, canine and human!  

3. To Squirt or Not to Squirt... Not with a spray bottle, silly (I don't care how hot it gets, I do NOT want to be squirted with water - although a rubdown with cool wet towel may be received with a bit more enthusiasm)! I'm talking about sunscreen. It is true that pets with light skin and noses, and short or thin coats can sunburn or even get skin cancer. This is especially true for kitties who have hair loss from allergies, surgeries, or sickness. It can happen just from prolonged sunbathing at the window. However, using regular sunscreen can be dangerous as well, especially if your CH-er likes the taste of it! There are special sunscreens out there just for pets. They're worth it! I don't need it much with my long hair, but my brother Gatsby, who is short-haired and LOVES to sunbathe, definitely needs a spritz!

Well, that's all for now. Until next month, stay cool everybody!

Cross-State Rescue: Jake (aka Skittles) From Kentucky to Maryland

By Tammy Siers

My name is Tammy and I am a volunteer for the Kentucky Humane Society in Louisville, KY, Since I have two adorable CH kitties of my own, I am considered the CH guru at the shelter. Whenever a CH kitty is surrendered, I am their contact person. I come and get the cat for short term foster to assess it's abilities (litterbox usage, stairs, mobility, temperament,etc). We try not to place CH kitties up for general adoption but instead try to place them into rescue so that we can be sure they go to a home who will understand and accommodate their special needs.

One day this past March I went to the shelter to do my usual volunteer stint and as soon as I hit the door everyone was looking for me. A woman had surrendered her four cats because she had lost her job and could no longer care for them. Three of them were "normal" but the vet confirmed that one of them had CH. His name was "Jake" and he was a beautiful white cat with bi-color eyes. I went back to Vet Services to see him and boy, he was not a happy cat! We couldn't tell at first if he was mean or just scared half out of his mind. He wasn't neutered so the first order of business was getting that little chore taken care of. We let him calm down a little over night and the next day our vet was able to neuter, vaccinate and microchip him.

The next problem was that I already had a litter of sick kittens I was fostering and had nowhere to take Jake to evaluate him. I immediately thought of Jeannie, our most dedicated employee, who also fosters and is one of our official "crazy cat ladies" at the shelter. She gladly agreed to foster him! As soon as she got him out of the shelter and to her house, he turned into an entirely different cat. He was very loving, loudly demanded attention and instantly became her husband's best friend. Jeannie absolutely fell in love with him!! She even became a member of the CH Kitty club! After about a week of foster, she deemed him to be mildy affected and that's when we contacted the CH Kitty Club. Debbie, the adoption specialist extraordinaire with CH Kitty Club, posted him on their website and also cross-posted him to Charm City Rescue in Baltimore, which also specializes in CH kitties.  

Within one week, Michelle from Charm City had found an adopter in the Washington, DC area! Now the problem was trying to get him to Baltimore! I was preparing to drive or fly Jake myself when Michelle managed to locate two groups who drive a transport from Kentucky through that area weekly. She gave me the contact names and I immediately started e-mailing them.  

Teresa, the first transport person I contacted told me that she does a weekly transport from Bowling Green, KY through West Virgina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. As we were corresponding, I suddenly realized that I knew her! Every Wednesday she brings a transport of puppies from Bowling Green's shelter to Louisville and I have seen her many times at our shelter. She told me that I didn't even have to bring Jake to Bowling Green that she would pick him up that Wednesday when she came to Louisville and foster him herself until she left for Maryland on Friday. Talk about the planets aligning!!

Jake left Friday evening for his new home! His new Mom, Andrea, wanted this cat so badly that she left DC in the wee hours of the morning so she could meet with the transport in Hagerstown, MD at 6:30 in the morning. She had to be back in DC for work by 11am so she was really pushing herself to get there in time.  

We were all so happy and excited that this adoption went off without a hitch! Andrea renamed Jake "Skittles" and he is really happy in his new home.