Our friend Babz in the UK wrote to ask how Sophie was doing. Here's an update from Sophie's foster mom:
You will be very happy to know that Sophie is getting better by the day. She and Larry (7 month old kitten) have become great friends and it is just amazing to see how they interact.
She and Patrick (4 month old kitten) played a little game this morning - it was so funny! He peeks around the door and then she runs almost up to his face and growls at him. Then Patrick runs away behind the potty and as soon as Sophie walks away Patrick would do the same thing again. She really wants to play with them but sometimes still a little hesitant.
She sleeps right next to Bill (foster dad) at night on his bed and she is very affectionate towards him. She is such a pretty kitty. Such beautiful eyes. We give her dry food only and that seems to be better for her.
******************************************************
Sounds to me like Sophie is in the perfect foster home. She is truly loved and allowed to be herself.
*
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sophie's New Foster Mom Reports In
Interestingly enough Sophie is eating and NOT throwing up. That's why she was returned. Hmm. I was told she was throwing up nearly every day, even with water.
She's eating well. We're wondering if the woman was creating such a stressful life for Sophie that she was literally making her sick.
The foster mom reports that when she goes in to talk to Sophie that Sophie growls and hisses. But she doesn't do this with the foster dad. The foster mom has a lovely South African accent and doesn't sound a thing like Sophie's two previous owners. Evidently those two women left such a mark on Sophie's psyche she can't even bear to have a woman talk to her. She's doing great with the foster dad though.
I think the best way to go is to only consider men when taking applications for Sophie. Right now I don't even have her on Petfinder. She needs more time to chill. When the time comes to be adopted, no more women.
*
She's eating well. We're wondering if the woman was creating such a stressful life for Sophie that she was literally making her sick.
The foster mom reports that when she goes in to talk to Sophie that Sophie growls and hisses. But she doesn't do this with the foster dad. The foster mom has a lovely South African accent and doesn't sound a thing like Sophie's two previous owners. Evidently those two women left such a mark on Sophie's psyche she can't even bear to have a woman talk to her. She's doing great with the foster dad though.
I think the best way to go is to only consider men when taking applications for Sophie. Right now I don't even have her on Petfinder. She needs more time to chill. When the time comes to be adopted, no more women.
*
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Sophie Just Can't Get a Break
Well, the new owner returned Sophie. I can hardly stand it. Why was she returned? She said Sophie would vomit after she'd eat. Every time? No. Who knows what the real story is. Bottom line, Sophie was returned last night without even a kiss goodbye.
Sophie is in a new foster home. She's not settled in yet and was very upset about making the change. Too many people don't understand that pets are not disposable. When they're dumped like this it rocks their world.
I feel very good about this home. It's a husband & wife and there are other cats in the home. Yeh! Sophie will have furry friends. This couple has a good understanding of cats plus the lady is from South Africa and knows how horrific it is to declaw a cat. I think they'll do a fine job of rehabilitating Sophie.
That's all for now.
*
Sophie is in a new foster home. She's not settled in yet and was very upset about making the change. Too many people don't understand that pets are not disposable. When they're dumped like this it rocks their world.
I feel very good about this home. It's a husband & wife and there are other cats in the home. Yeh! Sophie will have furry friends. This couple has a good understanding of cats plus the lady is from South Africa and knows how horrific it is to declaw a cat. I think they'll do a fine job of rehabilitating Sophie.
That's all for now.
*
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Long Overdue Update
It looks like Sophie may have found her forever home. She's been on "trial" for almost 2 weeks now. It's a very nice quiet home and Sophie is settling in.
Initially when she went to the new home she had some vomiting. So we had Nancy, the potential owner, take her to our vet because from just a phone call it was hard to determine if anything was wrong with Sophie. The vet gave her a clean bill of health. However just going to the vet proved to be a traumatic experience for Sophie. For five days afterward she wouldn't let Nancy near her. Poor Sophie. I wish her original owner had a clue of just how horribly she traumatized this cat.
Nancy was patient and Sophie started coming around. I think this home will work out. Will post again once I know for sure.
*
Initially when she went to the new home she had some vomiting. So we had Nancy, the potential owner, take her to our vet because from just a phone call it was hard to determine if anything was wrong with Sophie. The vet gave her a clean bill of health. However just going to the vet proved to be a traumatic experience for Sophie. For five days afterward she wouldn't let Nancy near her. Poor Sophie. I wish her original owner had a clue of just how horribly she traumatized this cat.
Nancy was patient and Sophie started coming around. I think this home will work out. Will post again once I know for sure.
*
Friday, July 17, 2009
Update on Sophie
This past weekend we had an adoption event. A very nice man came with his 10 year old daughter. She was a sweet, very shy little girl who had never had a pet before. Oh how she wanted her own cat. Later that day they went and met Sophie at her foster home. It was instant love and the following day Sophie went to her new home. The little girl's mother was happy as can be. Or so we thought.
The parents were divorced and Sophie would be living with the little girl and her mother. We were all so happy for Sophie and the little girl. Three days later the phone rang.
The mother said to come get Sophie. She didn't like the smell of the litter box in the child's room. What?? We knew there had to be more to the story but at any rate the foster mom left immediately to retrieve Sophie. When she got to the house the mother said the daughter was upstairs saying goodbye to Sophie. No, the mother wasn't upstairs with her to offer a comforting shoulder. Nothing.
The foster mom went up to get Sophie. The poor little girl followed her out to the car and never said one word. Not a peep. You just know her heart was broken. Oh, the room did not smell of a litter box.
What makes us so sad about this failed adoption is the little girl who just had her heart broken by her own mother. We suspect the mother was playing some head game with the ex-husband, sadly, at the expense of her own child. See, the husband had picked out Sophie while on his Saturday visit with his daughter. I guess it was too much for the mother to bear to think her "awful" ex did something so kind for his daughter. She had to put a stop to it and she did. What she doesn't realize is that her daughter will remember this forever.
Sophie is fine, no worse for wear and is back with her buddies at her foster home.
*
The parents were divorced and Sophie would be living with the little girl and her mother. We were all so happy for Sophie and the little girl. Three days later the phone rang.
The mother said to come get Sophie. She didn't like the smell of the litter box in the child's room. What?? We knew there had to be more to the story but at any rate the foster mom left immediately to retrieve Sophie. When she got to the house the mother said the daughter was upstairs saying goodbye to Sophie. No, the mother wasn't upstairs with her to offer a comforting shoulder. Nothing.
The foster mom went up to get Sophie. The poor little girl followed her out to the car and never said one word. Not a peep. You just know her heart was broken. Oh, the room did not smell of a litter box.
What makes us so sad about this failed adoption is the little girl who just had her heart broken by her own mother. We suspect the mother was playing some head game with the ex-husband, sadly, at the expense of her own child. See, the husband had picked out Sophie while on his Saturday visit with his daughter. I guess it was too much for the mother to bear to think her "awful" ex did something so kind for his daughter. She had to put a stop to it and she did. What she doesn't realize is that her daughter will remember this forever.
Sophie is fine, no worse for wear and is back with her buddies at her foster home.
*
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Sophie is Showing GREAT Improvement
Her balance has improved! Ever since her last visit to the holistic vet, Dr. DeHaan, she's not falling off the window sill like she was. Her stumbling is better too. Remember the foster mom reported that Sophie finally started grooming herself including her feet. The grooming was a major change.
I still think there must have been some sort of dissociation between Sophie and her feet after that brutal surgery. I don't know how else to put it but that would explain the stumbling, falling and the lack of grooming. Sophie's happy now too. She even went up to greet a visitor.
Miraculously, Dr. DeHaan got this 18 month old cat back in sync with her body. Amazing.
ps. Sophie needs her forever home. She's in a wonderful "sanctuary" but pretty soon she'll be rehabilitated and ready to go.
*
I still think there must have been some sort of dissociation between Sophie and her feet after that brutal surgery. I don't know how else to put it but that would explain the stumbling, falling and the lack of grooming. Sophie's happy now too. She even went up to greet a visitor.
Miraculously, Dr. DeHaan got this 18 month old cat back in sync with her body. Amazing.
ps. Sophie needs her forever home. She's in a wonderful "sanctuary" but pretty soon she'll be rehabilitated and ready to go.
*
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sophie's Story is on Best Friends and 2nd trip to the Holistic Vet
How about that! Sophie has made it onto Best Friends site. Here it is:
http://network.bestfriends.org:80/celebrateclawsnotdeclaw/news/
We truly thank the person who read her sad, sad story and put it up there. Hopefully it will make another owner think twice before committing this horrific act on a defenseless cat/kitten.
Another note:
Sophie went to see Dr DeHaan for a second visit a few days ago. Once home the foster mom noticed something remarkable: Sophie had started grooming herself. She'd never seen her do this before. Specifically, she was grooming her front feet.
This is interesting because it made me wonder if after the trauma and God awful pain from the declawing surgery did Sophie dissociate herself from her own feet??? She may well have. The foster mom is watching to see how she does with the stumbling now that Sophie seems to be aware that she has two front feet.
The foster mom reports that Sophie is very happy now. That's very new and light years away from where she was when she first arrived. The falcon gloves are put away for good!
To be continued....
*
http://network.bestfriends.org:80/celebrateclawsnotdeclaw/news/
We truly thank the person who read her sad, sad story and put it up there. Hopefully it will make another owner think twice before committing this horrific act on a defenseless cat/kitten.
Another note:
Sophie went to see Dr DeHaan for a second visit a few days ago. Once home the foster mom noticed something remarkable: Sophie had started grooming herself. She'd never seen her do this before. Specifically, she was grooming her front feet.
This is interesting because it made me wonder if after the trauma and God awful pain from the declawing surgery did Sophie dissociate herself from her own feet??? She may well have. The foster mom is watching to see how she does with the stumbling now that Sophie seems to be aware that she has two front feet.
The foster mom reports that Sophie is very happy now. That's very new and light years away from where she was when she first arrived. The falcon gloves are put away for good!
To be continued....
*
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Looking for Anonymous Poster from May 22nd
On May 22nd someone posted a comment that in part said, "We actually put a clause in our adoption contract that if they break any of the conditions, we can sue the adoptee for up to $1,000."
Please get in touch with me. Put "Sophie" in the subject and it will get sent to me. Then I'll email you privately. Our President wants more info.
Thanks
*
Please get in touch with me. Put "Sophie" in the subject and it will get sent to me. Then I'll email you privately. Our President wants more info.
Thanks
*
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Sophie's Visit To The Holistic Vet
Wow, what a day. The foster mom phoned me on the way back. She said on the way there Sophie pitched a fit the whole way down; fussing, crying, just miserable. Then into see Dr DeHaan.
He did chiropractic on her in addition to osteopathic treatments. He spent an hour with her. He said 3 of her toes were out of alignment, 3 of her lumbar discs were also out of alignment and one of the bones in her head was too. No wonder she was in pain! The doctor said her feet were "messed up" and went on to say she was "surgically & emotionally messed up"; she no longer trusts people.
The doctor said it could have come from wrapping her feet too tight after the declaw surgery and/or when she woke up from the surgery if she was thrashing around in the cage she could have banged her head and her feet. We'll never know what happened. All I can tell you with certainty is that she was NOT in this condition when she was adopted out in Feb 2008.
He also did a cold laser treatment on her to the acupuncture points. Plus he did biostimulation that triggers into the brain and reprograms it.
By the end of the hour Sophie was sitting on the table by herself; content. On the ride home she slept all curled up; not a peep. We suspect this is the first totally restful sleep she's had since the night before she was declawed. Think about it. This poor girl had been miserable for the past 14 months. Now she's back at her foster home, out of her carrier and mingling with her foster kitten buddies. I bet she's got quite a story to tell them!
Sophie will be going back to this same vet in 10 days. Hopefully, a few treatments will do the trick for this sweet cat.
*
He did chiropractic on her in addition to osteopathic treatments. He spent an hour with her. He said 3 of her toes were out of alignment, 3 of her lumbar discs were also out of alignment and one of the bones in her head was too. No wonder she was in pain! The doctor said her feet were "messed up" and went on to say she was "surgically & emotionally messed up"; she no longer trusts people.
The doctor said it could have come from wrapping her feet too tight after the declaw surgery and/or when she woke up from the surgery if she was thrashing around in the cage she could have banged her head and her feet. We'll never know what happened. All I can tell you with certainty is that she was NOT in this condition when she was adopted out in Feb 2008.
He also did a cold laser treatment on her to the acupuncture points. Plus he did biostimulation that triggers into the brain and reprograms it.
By the end of the hour Sophie was sitting on the table by herself; content. On the ride home she slept all curled up; not a peep. We suspect this is the first totally restful sleep she's had since the night before she was declawed. Think about it. This poor girl had been miserable for the past 14 months. Now she's back at her foster home, out of her carrier and mingling with her foster kitten buddies. I bet she's got quite a story to tell them!
Sophie will be going back to this same vet in 10 days. Hopefully, a few treatments will do the trick for this sweet cat.
*
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Why is Sophie Sad?
I'll tell you her story. Sophie was born to a feral mother in early November 2007. About a month later she was caught in a trap and placed in an Animal Adoption League foster home.
This is one of her first pictures:
It took a lot of work but she came around and became a sweet girl who got along with dogs and cats. Her buddy was Sunny, a Ragdoll, who was also a foster kitten. Sunny was bigger and loved to give her a bath.
She used her scratching post faithfully and never scratched the furniture.
In February 2008 Sophie was adopted out to a lady who lived alone and there were no other pets. I was hoping she'd take a buddy for Sophie but it didn't happen.
In March of 2008 Sophie went in for her spay. Against the rules and agreements made, the new owner had Sophie declawed at that time. This kitten was only 4 months old! We were not told about this and you can imagine why; she broke her agreement to never do this.
A lot of people aren't aware that cats actually walk on their nails. They need them for balance. Because of the way a cat's nails are made you can't just take the nail; they have to take the whole first knuckle. In other words it's an amputation x 10.
If you'd like to know more about this inhumane procedure to understand why it's banned in over 25 countries in the civilized world see this:
http://maxshouse.com/Truth%20About%20Declawing.htm
Please pass the word. I'm sorry to say that vets who perform this money-making procedure are sadly misinforming their clients.
Now, back to Sophie. In March I got a call from Sophie's owner to tell me she wanted to return Sophie to AAL. Why?? Because "she's not affectionate". I kid you not. We took her back asap. Apparently within days of being declawed Sophie didn't want her owner near her, was in pain and didn't want to walk. Is it any wonder that she wasn't affectionate? When I talked to the owner her justification was that her good friend has 4 declawed cats. So what! This procedure doesn't always go wrong but if you read the article in the link above you'll see why when it does go wrong, it can go very wrong. Why would any informed person take such a chance?
Sophie is in a fabulous foster home. However when she first arrived things were anything but fabulous. Sophie was furious; growling, hissing & spitting mad. The foster mom had to wear falcon gloves to approach her. It was the most pitiful thing I'd ever seen. While walking she'll stumble (declawed), will fall off the window sill (declawed), has painful feet (declawed). Poor Sophie was absolutely miserable.
Here she is on her "tree fort". She's a bit hunched up in this photo. She's actually a small cat, weighing only 7 pounds.
She'll now let her foster mom hold her without growling. You can see how little she really is. It's taken a good month but she's learning to trust people again. This is major progress.
We took her to our vet and did all sorts of blood work checking to see if she had anything going on that would explain her symptoms. The vet even took an x-ray of her feet feeling certain he was going to find bone fragments left in after the declawing. No bone fragments, no medical issues, blood work was fine.
Our vet said we could do a neurology consult as the next step if we wanted. But, I feel when there's an elephant in the room, look no further. It all seems to go back to that rotten day in March 2008 when she was declawed and Sophie's life took a horrible turn.
There's a vet in Kings Mountain, NC. His name is Dr. DeHaan and he's a holistic vet who does acupuncture and acupressure. I'd taken a dog to him last year that had very stiff joints from Rocky Mountain Spotted fever. Dr. DeHaan did both acupuncture and acupressure on this dog and the results were nothing short of miraculous. That's where we want to take Sophie. And that's where you come in. There's a donation button on the right. Please, find it in your heart to help us get Sophie the help she needs.
We're hoping to raise $500 to get Sophie a series of treatments. It's our last hope to save this girl from a lifetime of pain and discomfort. We want her to be happy once again. We're still waiting for her to purr.
Feel free to email and questions or comments. We love hearing from our readers. And lastly, say a prayer for Sophie.
.
This is one of her first pictures:
It took a lot of work but she came around and became a sweet girl who got along with dogs and cats. Her buddy was Sunny, a Ragdoll, who was also a foster kitten. Sunny was bigger and loved to give her a bath.
She used her scratching post faithfully and never scratched the furniture.
In February 2008 Sophie was adopted out to a lady who lived alone and there were no other pets. I was hoping she'd take a buddy for Sophie but it didn't happen.
In March of 2008 Sophie went in for her spay. Against the rules and agreements made, the new owner had Sophie declawed at that time. This kitten was only 4 months old! We were not told about this and you can imagine why; she broke her agreement to never do this.
A lot of people aren't aware that cats actually walk on their nails. They need them for balance. Because of the way a cat's nails are made you can't just take the nail; they have to take the whole first knuckle. In other words it's an amputation x 10.
If you'd like to know more about this inhumane procedure to understand why it's banned in over 25 countries in the civilized world see this:
http://maxshouse.com/Truth%20About%20Declawing.htm
Please pass the word. I'm sorry to say that vets who perform this money-making procedure are sadly misinforming their clients.
Now, back to Sophie. In March I got a call from Sophie's owner to tell me she wanted to return Sophie to AAL. Why?? Because "she's not affectionate". I kid you not. We took her back asap. Apparently within days of being declawed Sophie didn't want her owner near her, was in pain and didn't want to walk. Is it any wonder that she wasn't affectionate? When I talked to the owner her justification was that her good friend has 4 declawed cats. So what! This procedure doesn't always go wrong but if you read the article in the link above you'll see why when it does go wrong, it can go very wrong. Why would any informed person take such a chance?
Sophie is in a fabulous foster home. However when she first arrived things were anything but fabulous. Sophie was furious; growling, hissing & spitting mad. The foster mom had to wear falcon gloves to approach her. It was the most pitiful thing I'd ever seen. While walking she'll stumble (declawed), will fall off the window sill (declawed), has painful feet (declawed). Poor Sophie was absolutely miserable.
Here she is on her "tree fort". She's a bit hunched up in this photo. She's actually a small cat, weighing only 7 pounds.
She'll now let her foster mom hold her without growling. You can see how little she really is. It's taken a good month but she's learning to trust people again. This is major progress.
We took her to our vet and did all sorts of blood work checking to see if she had anything going on that would explain her symptoms. The vet even took an x-ray of her feet feeling certain he was going to find bone fragments left in after the declawing. No bone fragments, no medical issues, blood work was fine.
Our vet said we could do a neurology consult as the next step if we wanted. But, I feel when there's an elephant in the room, look no further. It all seems to go back to that rotten day in March 2008 when she was declawed and Sophie's life took a horrible turn.
There's a vet in Kings Mountain, NC. His name is Dr. DeHaan and he's a holistic vet who does acupuncture and acupressure. I'd taken a dog to him last year that had very stiff joints from Rocky Mountain Spotted fever. Dr. DeHaan did both acupuncture and acupressure on this dog and the results were nothing short of miraculous. That's where we want to take Sophie. And that's where you come in. There's a donation button on the right. Please, find it in your heart to help us get Sophie the help she needs.
We're hoping to raise $500 to get Sophie a series of treatments. It's our last hope to save this girl from a lifetime of pain and discomfort. We want her to be happy once again. We're still waiting for her to purr.
Feel free to email and questions or comments. We love hearing from our readers. And lastly, say a prayer for Sophie.
.
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