Getting Maybe was complicated. We were looking for a new rescue kitten, and had our sights set on several, but none of them worked out. We finally went to a house where a foster mama had several different types of kittens, including (the one we wanted), a silvery tabby with amazing jade green eyes. However, the silvery tabby had behavioural issues, and I wanted a laidback, easygoing kitten for Moet.
However, while we were there, we saw three sibling kittens (three sisters) each with signature ear tufts. We were told they had been rescued at most 30 minutes before euthanasia, because they were too 'ugly' to be adopted. Tabbies are considered boring, especially 'regular colour' tabbies (regardless of ear tufts). At the time, Lady (one of the siblings) was extremely laidback and very docile and seemed sweet. I expressed an interest, but we were told that there were other people who had also expressed an interest, and that the foster mama herself wanted to keep one of the siblings and couldn't decide between Lady and Luna (the third was going to be picked up that weekend) and it would just depend. We would have to 'wait and see.'
On the way home, we talked about how maybe we'd get her, maybe we wouldn't, we'd just have to leave it to the fates. We said we definitely wanted to change the name from Lady, since that doesn't really fit us as owners. And I have a general rule that if I am changing an animal's name, I want the name to sound similar to the original since it can just make re-naming easier.
In the end, we were called back and Lady was available. We changed her name to Maybe because we just never knew what would happen, she was completely outside of what we'd looked for, and I remember skipping past her picture about 50 times on PetRescue, because the photos hadn't been very good (she was also abot 4 weeks older than I like to start with kittens - at 12/14 weeks).
Anyway, as it turns out, she was rife with behavioural issues. *sighs* She has behavioural pica, feline idiopathic cystitis, she had inflammatory bowel disease for a significant amount of time, she can only eat *one* type of prescription catfood (that dissolves crystals) that could one day itself kill her due to long-term usage, she is reactive (reactivity is traditionally used to describe agitated, anxious, 'reactive' dogs, but it fits her perfectly and dog training techniques for reactive dogs have worked with her). Not only that, but she got an impaction within about a month of being home with us (behavioural pica FTL), and had an extremely high chance of dying during the surgery. During the surgery, they also discovered that whomever had desexed her had botched the procedure and left an ovary and part of the uterus in there (pain from that also probably contributed to her ongoing issues). That, plus being dumped in the bushland, and then being extraordinarily bright, has made Maybe a special needs cat.
Anyway, the name has always been especially relevant. We have no idea how long she'll live, since she's a danger to herself. Maybe she'll be with us for a long time, maybe she won't be here in a month. That 'maybe we'll get her, maybe we won't' has continued as a theme.
She also has a 'second' name - Chicken (because 'the sky is falling!') - because we say 'maybe' a lot in general conversation, and she is so smart that she picks up on the word in general usage as well as when it's directed towards her. So Chicken is a very specific name that I use when praising her or just generally indicating that I love her to pieces. She's a hard cat to live with, I would never want another Maybe, but I love the one I have now. :) The other name she's picked up is the 'Million Dollar Cat' from our vet, because of how much she's cost us in tests / surgery / medication / check-ups etc. These days, if she gets another impaction we'll euthanase, but anything else we treat/train. So far, so good.
Wow, sorry for the ramble! I am sometimes just amazed myself that we ended up with her and that she's still alive and in this house.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-12-26 04:58 am (UTC)However, while we were there, we saw three sibling kittens (three sisters) each with signature ear tufts. We were told they had been rescued at most 30 minutes before euthanasia, because they were too 'ugly' to be adopted. Tabbies are considered boring, especially 'regular colour' tabbies (regardless of ear tufts). At the time, Lady (one of the siblings) was extremely laidback and very docile and seemed sweet. I expressed an interest, but we were told that there were other people who had also expressed an interest, and that the foster mama herself wanted to keep one of the siblings and couldn't decide between Lady and Luna (the third was going to be picked up that weekend) and it would just depend. We would have to 'wait and see.'
On the way home, we talked about how maybe we'd get her, maybe we wouldn't, we'd just have to leave it to the fates. We said we definitely wanted to change the name from Lady, since that doesn't really fit us as owners. And I have a general rule that if I am changing an animal's name, I want the name to sound similar to the original since it can just make re-naming easier.
In the end, we were called back and Lady was available. We changed her name to Maybe because we just never knew what would happen, she was completely outside of what we'd looked for, and I remember skipping past her picture about 50 times on PetRescue, because the photos hadn't been very good (she was also abot 4 weeks older than I like to start with kittens - at 12/14 weeks).
Anyway, as it turns out, she was rife with behavioural issues. *sighs* She has behavioural pica, feline idiopathic cystitis, she had inflammatory bowel disease for a significant amount of time, she can only eat *one* type of prescription catfood (that dissolves crystals) that could one day itself kill her due to long-term usage, she is reactive (reactivity is traditionally used to describe agitated, anxious, 'reactive' dogs, but it fits her perfectly and dog training techniques for reactive dogs have worked with her). Not only that, but she got an impaction within about a month of being home with us (behavioural pica FTL), and had an extremely high chance of dying during the surgery. During the surgery, they also discovered that whomever had desexed her had botched the procedure and left an ovary and part of the uterus in there (pain from that also probably contributed to her ongoing issues). That, plus being dumped in the bushland, and then being extraordinarily bright, has made Maybe a special needs cat.
Anyway, the name has always been especially relevant. We have no idea how long she'll live, since she's a danger to herself. Maybe she'll be with us for a long time, maybe she won't be here in a month. That 'maybe we'll get her, maybe we won't' has continued as a theme.
She also has a 'second' name - Chicken (because 'the sky is falling!') - because we say 'maybe' a lot in general conversation, and she is so smart that she picks up on the word in general usage as well as when it's directed towards her. So Chicken is a very specific name that I use when praising her or just generally indicating that I love her to pieces. She's a hard cat to live with, I would never want another Maybe, but I love the one I have now. :) The other name she's picked up is the 'Million Dollar Cat' from our vet, because of how much she's cost us in tests / surgery / medication / check-ups etc. These days, if she gets another impaction we'll euthanase, but anything else we treat/train. So far, so good.
Wow, sorry for the ramble! I am sometimes just amazed myself that we ended up with her and that she's still alive and in this house.