Beyonce has only just arrived at Katie's Place, and she's only a baby. She's frisky, playful and cute as a button. However, she is unadoptable. She has a deformity of her hind quarters that makes her hind legs a bit weak and she walks on her hocks with her toes turned in. That just makes her endearing. It doesn't slow her down. But because her hind quarters are weak, she also leaks pee and poo a bit. We doubt that anyone would want to take home a kitten who will leave small messes around their house. She was found on someone's property. Apparently there was a sibling who disappeared. What became of the rest of her family, we'll never know. In another time or place, Beyonce would have been euthanized. But she is in no discomfort and she thinks life is one big wonderful party. She plays with her toys and scoots across the floor in eager pursuit of anything we toss for her. She plays until she's tired out and falls asleep (to the relief of the older cats who are often run over during her pursuit of a toy). She happily takes us at our word that she is adorable and she's a confident, cheerful little kitten.

Beyonce's short videos below show that this lively little monkey has no trouble getting around!

Dec 11/07
Beyonce is a lucky little kitten with a special friend. Everybody loves our mucky little monkey because she's so adorable, even if she is a bit messy around the hind quarters. One gentleman in particular comes to spend time with the tiny crippled orphan -- when he's not busy in his workshop at the North Pole. He was on duty for 'Pet Photos with Santa' on December 9th. There was a surprise for both of them; a volunteer came to the Pet Photos from the shelter with a carrier, and when we asked who she had in there, she just replied "You'll see" with a twinkle in her eye. The volunteer opened the carrier and put Beyonce into Santa's arms (with a towel for her leaky backside). Beyonce didn't know she was coming to see Santa, and Santa didn't know Beyonce was coming to see him. She nuzzled Santa from his ears to his chin, and he hugged her tight.

Jan/08
One of the cats in Beyonce's communal room, Jersey, is a particularly motherly cat who has been seen giving Beyonce a good washing. Beyonce soaks up this motherly attention blissfully. She presents a challenge for us as far as cleaning goes. Her incontinence causes her to leave little messes all over the place. We've taken to covering everything with small squares of cloth that can be quickly picked up and discarded if they become soiled. For the long term, we'll have to find a better solution. But we'll manage. Beyonce is such a happy, loving little kitten that however much we might lament the work she creates, her beaming pixie face just melts our hearts.
 

Feb 24/08
Our little girl has grown! Her latest video below shows her playing and also show her funny little back legs clearly a couple of times.

The short video below shows how quick and agile this little monkey is when she scampers up a scratching post and into the cubby hole at the top.

May/08
Beyonce is still just a mischievous kitten. She loves canned food, and if we put a plate of canned food into a new-cat cage for a new cat, she'll find a way to reach it, pull it to the edge, and fish it out with her paw. Beyonce also likes cleaning. When the volunteers arrive to scoop, scrub and sweep, Beyonce helps. She'll investigate the jug of water used to refill bowls. She'll inspect the roll of paper towels used to wipe spots. Everything must be inspected in case it's either fun to play with or good to eat.
 
 

June 15/08
We learned something surprising about Beyonce yesterday. We noticed for the first time that she is a he. Our little girl is a boy. She came to us as a tiny, crippled kitten and nothing distinct could be detected under her fluff. We didn't get her altered because she was frail in health. She remained the only unaltered cat in her communal room. It's easy to distinguish male from female with newborns and adult cats. But with young kittens, it can be hard to tell. Once she was named and had settled in, we never thought to check again. But yesterday, our mistake became clear. Obviously she, um, he will have to have a new name. We're leaning toward "Jay-Z" (who is the real Beyonce's boyfriend). But we'll have to see what fits our little guy best.

July 5/08
We decided his favourite volunteer should chose his new name -- the volunteer who was Santa for our Pet Photos. His favourite volunteer has officially named him "Mr. B." But that button-eyed little munchkin is still "Beyonce" to us. In the end, he's been called Beyonce by everyone for so long that, as a group, we can't seem to call him anything else. Boy or girl, we feel the same way about him and he's the same old silly fluff ball.

Sept/08
Beyonce responds to any overture of friendship from a human or another cat. When Bond reached out a paw one day, Beyonce reached back and they sat with paws touching for a moment or two.

Sept 16/08
    While cleaning Beyonce's back end yesterday, our volunteer in charge of animal health noticed some scabs. She clipped away as much of the fur as possible and thought Beyonce's back end looked very raw. So she took the little guy to the vet. The vet said they'd sedate him and give him a good clean and check his whole back end and also see if any infection had gone inside.
    When the vet was done with Beyonce we heard back that despite being raw and inflamed, there was no infection. We just have to continue keeping him as clean as possible. Although it is probably sensitive and sore, he is not in "pain". He will be on antibiotics. He was also finally neutered since he was to be sedated for treatment anyway. So Mr. Beyonce is still doing well despite his deformity stacking the odds against him.

Jan/09
At the new shelter, Beyonce was sharing a communal room with a lively, mischievous youngster named Miley. One day, Miley was feeling bored and was wandering around looking for something to do. Beyonce was lying in a nest against the wall and Miley saw him and launched herself at him. It was playful, at least it was at first. Then it got rough. Her tail began lashing and Beyonce squeaked in protest at one point. But he held his own with her. He doesn't have the range of motion in his hind legs to use them for battle as effectively as other cats, but Beyonce always gives as good as he gets. Sometimes he's even instigated a wrestling match. Young Miley is too big and too impulsive though and she was moved to a different communal room. So Beyonce can toddle happily around his own room now without fearing a sneak attack.
 
 
 

Jan 9/09
Our volunteer in charge of animal health took Beyonce to the vet for a check up first thing in the new year. Because his little back end is always damp, he has an infection. So he will be on antibiotics again. The volunteer reported back to us, "Just to let you know, this infection will keep happening again and again." The vet and volunteer discussed his quality of life. Right now, he appears to be happy. The volunteer said, "If we have to keep cleaning him and putting him on antibiotics then we'll do that -- until he appears unhappy." We don't expect Beyonce to have the longest life. We will give him the best life we can for as long as possible. We couldn't shorten his life by even one day if that day would be another happy one for him. We'll keep an eye on our dear little guy.

 
 

May/09
Poor little Beyonce gets frequent baths where his back end is immersed in soapy water and then rinsed. His normally cheerful face takes on a wide-eyed, scandalized expression during his baths but he's very good and does no more than cry a bit. As soon as the bath is over and he's wrapped in a dry towel, he's beaming and ready to party again. Life is a party for our beautiful Beyonce. He's happy with what he's got and he's really enjoying the porch as the weather warms up.
 
 
 
 

Sept/09
Mr. B manages well among his roommates, despite being smaller. In fact, he's pretty sassy and takes advantage when he knows he can get away with it. He'll bat at passing cats if he's a safe distance from them. Growing up among many cats, he's become a good judge of  what he can get away with. But he snoozes more than he plays, now that he's all grown up. He particularly likes the small, foam kiddy chairs that turn up at garage sales. He curls up in them and finds them a perfect fit.

Oct 3/09
    We suspected Mr. B had another infection in his nether region. So he went to see the vet. They knocked him out and cleaned up his back end again. There was some infection. Last time that happened was December, so he's had several good months inbetween which means we seem to be managing his problem. He was given a Convenia injection for the infection and he seems to be back to his old cheerful self.
    We know we'll lose our little munchkin sooner rather than later. Little ones with his particular deformity don't tend to live much longer than two to three years, and Mr. B is already two. But as long as he's happy and enjoys life, we'll be there for him.

Nov 18/09
Poor little Mr. B's back end looks sore lately. He gets it bathed whenever he needs it and he takes that bravely. But we'll ask the vet if there's anything else we can do for him. We took him in yesterday. She said his back end actually looks pretty good compared to the last few times. There will always be some soreness and dead skin sloughing off. We must continue to keep it as clean as possible and put cream on when possible, and we'll keep him on the antibiotics on a daily basis now to try and ward off any infection. He was rolling and purring on the table. If we keep his back end as clean as possible then the decision will ultimately come down to how he feels -- is he happy or not?
 

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