Pumpkin

I knew within the next 2 weeks, he was different. With his loud orange color and his rather large head, he was nicknamed Pumpkin.

As the other kittens eyes began to open, so did Pumpkins, and as the other kittens started to move about, wobbly walking, He did not. He began his very slow development, and I grew more and more concerned. He was eating fine, and gaining weight just like his 2 sisters, but I knew he was unable to see.

Now, at 4 1/2 weeks old, his coordination was slowly developing, Very wobbly though, and he wasn't running and playing like the other kits were. When he did decided to wobble about the bedroom, he was always bumping into things.

Eventually he did learn the layout of the room, and can now, at 5 1/2 weeks of age, navigate his way down the hallway and into the living room.

Pumpkin's site is somewhat developing. He has an appointment Tuesday, June 19th for a checkup and to evaluate his situation. It is looking like he may have Hydrocephalus, ( water on the brain ). We will know more on Tuesday.

His vet appointment went ok, he does have Hydrocephalus, we will be taking him to a specialist soon.

He is blind, the vet said he is otherwise healthy. He was having fun playing this evening. It is so

Just a quick update, June 21-07: He has been playing more and more. Yesterday he figured out he can climb up onto the couch !! Such a small thing to accomplish for a kitten, but for him, it was another hurdle he has learned to overcome ! Now if he could just learn how to get DOWN !

June 23rd ~ after trying everything I could ( and I cannot believe I didn't think of this ) to get Pumpkin to eat some solid foods, I was talking to Shelby, of Dreamweavercatz and she said to try boiled chicken.......well, now he won't touch his bottle !! He absolutely loved the chicken. Thanks a bunch Shelby !! You made Pumpkin a very happy kitty today !

June 26-07 ~He is running around the house like the other kitties, he only seldom bumps into things ( things that aren't supposed to be there !! ) Darn kids ! Still hasn't mastered the water bowl, so we will be getting him a water bottle today, hopefully he will take to it pretty easily ! He weighed in today at 1lb, 14 ounces, he is now 7 weeks old...

Pumpkin says Hi everyone. ( I woke him up !! Can you tell ? )

July 7-8 ~

Well, mom said I had a very full weekend. It all started Saturday when Brittany

brought home 3 baby fowl chicks. I got to sniff them !!! they startled me a little bit, but

I went right back to smelling and touching them.

Then came Sunday, my day started as usual, racing around the house, even if I am blind I know

exactly where ALL the furniture is !! Mom said that some cats just can't see sometimes. Daddy thinks

I miss not being able to see because of the hydrocephalus, but mom says I don't know any better. And

that it was just a freak thing that I got this 'water on the brain' stuff. She said I'm not contagious (what

ever that means ) and that it's not my furry mom's fault that I have this. She said I'm just a very special kitty

who will be with my family forever.....

Anyways, Sunday ended with me wanting to go outside because I heard mommy talking out there....sooooooo....

They let me out !!! I played and ran, and always went back to mommy when she snapped her fingers ( That's how

I find her sometimes )............There were these interesting little black balls I was playing with. Mom said

they were goat poopoo's !! they where fun anyways..............

couple more pics on the way.

We went to a specialist, pumpkin's hydro is mild, and he is in fact blind, although we do still think he can see some things

especially white.....Pumpkin also has a heart murmur. He goes in August 22 to see the cardiologist, so we can find out

how severe it is. We are praying it is mild. he runs and plays normal, so that is a good sign...

Pumpkins site has improved greatly !! he was actually chasing a fly the other day..... he is growing quickly. and is extremely healthy. We still haven't made it to the cardiologists, as he is doing so well and not showing any signs of being sick in any way. But, we will get to the vets soon for a check up.

JUST A FEW RECENT PICS ~ Pumpkin is doing wonderfully ! He said Hi to a few new friends recently at the Sacramento cat show....

We just took these pics over the last couple weeks. Pumpkin is a joy to have. He has had a lot

of visitors lately, and greets everyone of them with smelling their hands and tasting them !!

With all the new babies out and about, Pumpkin is proving to be a wonderful big brother

to them all. He is so very gentle with each and every one of them. Every morning he

gets his morning kisses, and I thank God he was placed here with us. He is special,

Pumpkin went to a new vet the other day. He is now neutered and Healthy. Thanks to

his new vet at " JUST FOR CATS " Dr. Kari is wonderful, and I am so glad Pumpkin

I don't know where to begin. This is a difficult thing for me to do, but you all were there for pumpkin, during his remarkable journey in life, and with all that he overcame. It is with tremendous sadness that I have to tell you all, Pumpkin passed away in my arms early friday morning. There were no warnings signs in his behavior that something was about to go wrong.
This heartache is going to take a long time for me to get over. He was the love of my life, and I told him so every day. He took a big part of my heart with him when he died. He was the most caring cat I have ever known, always happy, full of energy and love. The following pictures were taken the day before he left me. I had forgotten they were even on my camera until a week later. It was hard to look at them, and the crying began again..........