Stitch's people were unable to keep her and had been looking for a new home for her. She was a sweet-natured, young, pretty cat and they had a home lined up for her. But just before she was to go to her new home she was hit by a car. The accident damaged her hind quarters so that her tail was limp and she dribbled pee. Now she was unadoptable. So in November '06, Stitch came to us. Her body might have been damaged but love and trust still shone in her eyes. She tried to make it to her litter pan but either the bladder muscles or the sphincter didn't work too well, and her limp tail got in the way. So, on the vet's advice, we arranged in early March for her tail to be amputated, and Stitch went on two kinds of medications to improve her bladder function. The meds seem to be helping and in mid-April, Stitch joined a communal room at the shelter. Since she's young, pretty, affectionate and lovable then if her problem clears up completely she should be very adoptable. Until then, even if she only leaks a little bit, she is a hard-to-place cat. Time will tell.

Stitch's videos were made when she arrived at the shelter, before her tail was amputated. She was a loving, trusting little cat, even when she was new. But you can see how her tail hung limply.

Sept/07
Stitch is a quiet, undemanding little cat who keeps to herself most of the time. She can always be seen lounging on a shelf or in a nest somewhere in her communal room. She doesn't join the crowd of cats who run up to us for attention when we enter. That doesn't mean that she doesn't want attention though. If you sit down and give her a fuss, she soaks it up blissfully, rolling and reaching into the caresses. She combines the best qualities: she is affectionate but independent enough that she won't pester you. We hope the time will come that she can enjoy a home of her own. Her bladder leakage problems do seem to be improving. We expect she will be a perfectly normal and wonderful family member.

May/08
Stitch seemed depressed for a while when the most contact she had with people was when volunteers went to medicate her. She began to think that people only looked for her so they could shove something into her. But when the medication ended, she soon relaxed and began to welcome visitors confidently. When she recognizes one of the volunteers who makes sure to give her a fuss, she'll stretch out and purr as soon as they get near her. She loves belly rubs and stretches right out for them. One day she sprawled blissfully in a volunteer's lap for a long time. Not until she exerted herself to stand up did she dribble pee. You just need a thick towel in your lap if you cuddle Stitch. When we're not around, Stitch can be quite companionable with some of the other cats. We found her in a nest under the couch recently, snuggled beside a semi-feral youngster named Renee. (Renee never met a human until she came to the shelter and she prefers feline company.) Stitch doesn't seem to look for feline company. But if another cat joins her, she doesn't mind.

Dec 5/08
We think Stitch might finally have recovered full bladder control. If so, it's wonderful news for this poor little cat. She's healthy. pretty, gentle and well behaved, and she does yearn so much for affection -- more than we have time to give her. This could be her chance to find a real home where she'll have somebody to love and to love her back. We just have to be sure before we list her for adoption. Occasionally we find accidents and indiscretions in the communal rooms. Shelter life is stressful even for the hardiest of cats in the best of shelters, so if we find a puddle it could come from anyone. We just have to keep our eyes open to see who's doing what in Stitch's room.

In her videos below, Stitch was napping when the volunteer arrived. But she's always ready for a bit of attention and she woke up fully as the volunteer petted her and she asked for more!

Dec 10/08
Stitch is not ready for adoption yet. :(    We checked with the vet about her incontinence. One of the volunteers thinks she still leaks a bit although she doesn't dribble continually. The vet determined that she actually has good anal tone and bladder control. So we're going to try a different medication to see if that will help with the dribbles.

Jan 16/09
Poor Stitch. We had such high hopes for her new medication. It would mean a new life for Stitch if she could become adoptable. But it doesn't seem to have reduced her leaking at all. That experiment was a sad failure.

April 30/09
    We have sad news about Stitch. We noticed in the last week that she seemed to have trouble pooping. Our volunteer in charge of animal health sent us the following update this morning.
    "I've been giving her wet food to help ease things and also gave her fluids. However, the last few days she hasn't wanted to eat. She's lost weight. She ate last night but I took her to the vet anyway today just to see if there was anything going on. Bad news. Stitch's colon is now nonfunctioning. She is solidly backed up because she has no muscles there anymore. They could sedate her and give her an enema but it's tough on her because it's dehydrating and uncomfortable for her. Then her colon will just fill up in another week. There is an operation that can remove almost the entire colon but in Stitch's case, the part of colon left would have no anal tone at all. This means that stuff would be pouring out of her on a continuous basis. She would live surrounded by it and covered in it. So her prognosis is not good. The recommendation is to let her go -- soon. Stitch seemed fine today after I brought her back from the vet. She looked comfortable and turned over for a belly rub. Her eyes are clear and bright. But she must feel some discomfort, and she can't eat anymore cause she's 'stuffed'. The vet will check with me tomorrow and we're going to try and arrange a time for her to come by the shelter. Poor thing, she's so sweet. She's been content at least even if she wasn't as happy as she could have been in a real home."
    This is heartbreaking for all of us. At least our Stitchy was well loved. A cuddler volunteer comes by every weekend and sits with the cats in Stitch's communal room. They enjoy lap time and all the pets she can give them. Stitchy was right by her side for her share of the lovin'. We'll miss our little Stitch.

May 5/09
An eleventh hour reversal -- the volunteers received the following note in their weekly update on the shelter population: "Update on Miss Stitches - We are trying one last thing with her. It is a long shot, and our vet doesn't have a lot of faith that it will make a difference for our poor girl, but we felt we have to give it a shot." Yes, Stitch is still with us. The volunteer who liaises with the vets agonized about it. Stitch still seems so content, and she's fine in every other respect except her bowls. She's not suffering other than being severely constipated. The volunteer made one last desperate suggestion to the vet. What if Stitch was cleaned out -- just this once -- to see if it would kickstart her insides into functioning on their own again. Maybe -- whatever the original cause -- they've ground to a halt because she is so completely backed up now. If cleaning Stitch out gives her more time then it would be worth it. If it fails, at least we gave her every chance. So Stitch must sleep in a cage when we're not around so that we know for sure that anything in the litter box comes from her and no other cat. We're crossing our fingers and watching that litter box as eagerly as if Stitch was the goose who laid golden eggs. So far we've seen a couple of promising results. But she has to keep it up long enough that we know her insides are running smoothly on their own. All we can do now is wait and watch. After a certain period of time, a return visit to the vet will tell us how she is. So Stitch's story is To Be Continued.

May 11/09
We received the following report from our vet-visit volunteer, "Stitch passed her exam with flying colors. The vets were both delighted with the unexpected outcome. Stitch's litter pan performance has been great the last week. I don't think we need to confine her anymore. I suggest we give her canned food once a day to make sure she gets enough moisture. She will continue to be on meds BID but she seems to be taking them much more easily this time than she used to. Meds will be 'for life'. Occasionally she may need a "clean out" but otherwise she's fine and she seems really happy too." So Stitch is able to quote Mark Twain: "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."
That was close!

One family's heart had gone out to Stitch and they had planned to get a vet's advice about surgery or any other kind of procedure that might help. They wanted to take her home. Now maybe they can pursue this although we're not too optimistic that Stitch's leaking can be cured. On the brighter side, a 'cuddler volunteer' comes every weekend and sits with the cats in Stitch's communal room. This is so important to them. Shelter cats hunger for love like they'd known when they had families of their own. Stitch always get her share of Amy's attention and she rolls onto her back with her eyes closed and soaks it up with obvious bliss. That's when the photo above was taken.

Sept/09
Stitch is now in the third of her nine lives. The second began when she survived being hit by a car several years ago. The third began when she won an unexpected reprieve after a near-fatal bowel blockage in April. Despite her dramatic life, Stitch is a calm and unexcitable girl. Yet, if she thinks you might give her a pet, she'll roll over, exposing her tummy hopefully. Give that tummy a rub, and she surrenders herself to the pleasure of it, enjoying it for as long as you carry on, her expression still solemn and inscrutable. She is the ultimate mysterious feline, and her weakness for tummy rubs is what shows us her tender, loving soul.
 

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