CoB Success: Dirty Paws

In late December, Cats of Bridgewater saw its first official adoption! Dirty Paws is a young female tortoiseshell-point Siamese cat that was shy but friendly. I had my eye on her throughout the fall, and her condition continued to worsen. She had visible inflamed eyes and runny nose, as well as large mats. Once at the vet, she was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, a double eye infection, double ear infection, and oral health problems. She was started on multiple antibiotics, medications, and probiotics and started showing improvements right away.

Once in her new home, she was very quiet and slept a lot, but as days went on she became more active and vocal. Right out of the crate on day one she was loving and cuddly, just wanting to be held for hours on end.

Litter training her proved to be difficult. Cats have a natural desire to cover their waste, but Dirty Paws didn't have that inclination without direction. We tried alternate litters (newspaper pellets), moving the box, uncovering the box, unscented litter, dirt mixed into the litter, etc. When placed in the box, she acted like I was putting her in a box of lava! What ended up working was crating her while unsupervised, with only the litterbox, food, water, and her favorite blanket. She caught on fast and was using the litterbox in the crate right away. After eliminating the crate from the equation, I added World's Best Cat Litter's "Good Habits" litter to the mix and she continued to use the box consistently. It's important to consider things like this when taking in a previously outdoor cat - they might require more patience and effort than a typical cat from the shelter. Seeing her flourish in her new home and be receptive to love, good food, and medication has been so rewarding and I can't wait to see her full transformation as she continues to get better.