Padcha and her family had been visiting SGVHS for generations. When it came time for her to consider adopting, she intended to adopt a senior cat. When she perused SGVHS’s website, she saw a beautiful blind young Tortie, named BG. She decided to meet her the very next day. Adopting a cat with special needs never crossed her mind before, but upon first meeting, BG immediately reached out and began playing with Padcha’s hair.
The staff had decided to put their two special needs kitties together, so they pointed out BG’s roommate, Clover, a silver tabby with only one hind leg. Once Padcha heard both the kitties’ back stories she decided to take them both home. They are now called Persimmons (Persie—the Tortie) and Pearl (the tabby). They even have their own Instagram page - @persimmonsandpearl.
Padcha gradually introduced the kitties to their new home by starting with them in a very small area and slowly increasing the space in which they could play. Soon Persie was chasing Padcha in their backyard and Pearl liked to hunker down to watch TV together. Padcha has some boxes around the house to shorten Pearl’s jumping distances and only had to move some furniture at the beginning until Persie mapped out the whole house in her brain. Padcha reports that Persie talks a lot and Pearl loves to look at herself in the mirror!
Padcha explains, “watching them become more and more brave every day is deeply rewarding. It’s like I’m discovering the world with them. When Persie first got to play in the grass, she couldn’t stop hopping—pure joy.”
Padcha’s initial apprehension to take on two special needs cats has turned to gratitude. Padcha says, “don’t be afraid that the special needs will be a difficult undertaking. The needs are exactly that: special. It’s not burdensome and the reward definitely outweighs the slight adjustments.