26 July 2011

Please Help Sha'an & I

I want to tell you about a little boy suffering with a severe kidney blockage. This is a debilitating condition that he, and his doctor, is fighting for his life with as I write this. In the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you that this boy is a cat.
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Sha’an’s story is a complicated one. I will start at the beginning.
You see, his mother, Mina, was the cat of an ex-girlfriend of mine from ages ago. One thing that was a consistent irritation of said ex was that Mina had taken to me almost immediately. Oftentimes, animals will choose a person regardless of “ownership”. Anyone who knows animals understands this statement well enough. When the “break-up” happened it was decided that Mina’s pregnancy was too far along to allow for her to change residence with her “owner” until after the kittens were born.

Mina had some fairly interesting personal… shall we say quirks. I believe it will serve the story better to bring them up as they become relevant. I mention them now so that you will be more ready when the do find their way into this narrative.

It was a couple of weeks after the ex had moved out that Mina started acting strange. By strange I mean in that “these babies are about to come out” way.
I remember setting her up on the bed upstairs and feeling rather in need of something cold to drink. Figuring this could take a while, I tried to assure her that I would be back in just a moment. Mina would have none of that. I got to the refrigerator downstairs only to fine that she had followed me, panting and waddling the entire way. It was clearly a struggle for her to move that much, but she wanted me with her, Damnit.

At this realization of her requirement of me, I quickly grabbed a random beverage and carried her back upstairs. What came next was the proverbial “photo-finish”. No sooner had I gotten her placed where she was before the trip downstairs that the first kitten was crowning.
I will not go into all the details of each, despite my want to do so. There were three in all. The last one was a medium grey in color and had given as guttural and triumphant a yell on his way out that can be made by something so small.

One thing I rather regret doing was calling Mina’s “owner” directly afterwards to inform her that the wait was over. The next day, she came in and took all four of them away. This was the last time I would ever see Mina.

For what felt like years but was only several weeks, I called and requested (nearly demanded) that all three of the kittens should come back to me after weaning. If Mina couldn’t have me, I wanted to at least be the protector of her offspring (silly as that silly sense of nobility might sound). I was lied to when told that that would be fine, all three would have a home with me. This got altered, changed, unrecalled, and finally only partially realized.
In order to placate me (read: shut me the hell up) she shows up on my doorstep with one of the kittens approximately seven weeks after their birth. It just happened to be the grey one that had made a holler on his way out. If I was only to get one of them, I felt good that this was the one for that reason. The name she had given to him was “Shaman”.

Day one with “Shaman” I felt the name needed to change but since he had only known that name up to that point I choose a phonetic compromise and dropped the “m” from it. Almost immediately he started kneading the place where he chose for relaxation, just as Mina had always done. When I opted to give him a scritch he began head-butting my hands, indicating that more scritches were required, again just like Mina. Eventually, he had wrapped the tip of my finger into his tiny paw and would squeeze, thus causing him to purr wildly. It was almost like Mina had a behavioral clone. I did say the mention of Mina’s quirks would pay off.
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Sha’an quickly established a bond with me that has been clearly observed by many. Friends have mentioned they can tell how strong it is by the way he “looks” at me. I have since become the caregiver of two other cats:
Taeylr
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& Mac
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.
While I love these guyzos immensely, neither of them comes close to sharing a bond with me as Sha’an does. I know it’s wrong to talk of favorites, but let’s be honest here, Sha’an is just that.
About five years ago Sha’an had nearly died due to a urinary tract blockage. He got surgery, medications, and a special food that he would have to be on for the rest of his life. In all the subsequent years blood-work has been done to make sure of no long-term damage from that experience. All tests had shown him to beat the odds beyond any expectations, as if it had never happened. Medications were gradually reduced and ended within two years and he remains on the diet to this day.

In a strange twist of fate, he has found himself with another blockage in his kidney. It is easily operable because of a very early detection. His established survival rate from the previous incident bodes quite well for recovery this time around. Sha’an and I have been together through some of the roughest parts of my adult life and we still have many years ahead.

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It is no secret to anyone that I am not in the best financial situation at the best of times. I’ve always managed to get by, even if with a little help from dear friends. Right now, though I will have to spend a significant portion of my rent/bill money to save Sha’an’s little life. I am hoping for some saving grace from anyone and everyone willing to lend to that in some small way.

One way would be to visit this site: http://bit.ly/oGGiuE this is an amazing product that has nothing but good things going for it. I will also be listing many items on eBay: http://bit.ly/lSVaWr in hopes of both gaining needed capitol and reducing the amount of collectibles clogging up the house. Finally, if anyone is feeling particularly charitable, they could donate to the cause via PayPal (please send a message to inquire further).

Please help if you can. Thank you.