clementine

Clementine is an incredibly tender and sweet feline friend who will be there to greet you at the door, keep you company nearby or in your lap, and generally just be a loyal and loving companion. She is a good natured and calm kitty who generally prefers a good snooze, though she does love a wiggly string or shoelace to play with when she’s in the mood. She’s not shy of people, and has been deeply loved by all who’ve had the pleasure of caring for her. Unfortunately, Clementine suffers from Feline Idiopathic Cystitis, an inflammatory disease of the bladder without a known origin. Due to this, she urinates outside of her litter box as she associates it with pain. Fortunately, she always urinates in the same spot near her box, so as long as you leave a pee pad down with a towel on top you should see no problems. Clementine had free rein of the house at her foster mom’s without any issue. There was never any urine odor using this system, and she continues to use her box for defecation just fine. Current research indicates that FIC may have neuropathic roots, as such she does take two oral medications to help partially alleviate her condition. Presently, she manages best taking her medicine together once a day after having eaten her wet food at least 20-30 minutes prior, otherwise she looses her appetite. She doesn’t cause any fuss taking her meds, and can be easily bribed with a Churu (tuna flavor is her favorite). It is important that she be kept on a urinary wet food diet, which does pose a certain additional expense, and be kept hydrated. We recommend a fountain waterer as she seems to prefer this. The most important things to note is that FIC flares with stress, and Clementine has good days and bad days. Her bad days sometimes come two at a time, and generally she’ll want to curl up somewhere shaded and enclosed to sleep it off. Despite her not feeling well during those times she’s never lashed out, but it is still best to leave her be until she feels better. Keeping an eye on her tail is a good indicator, if she’s walking with it low to the ground, she’s probably not having the best day. We recommend using a calming feline diffuser plug in and to stay updated on the latest research, as FIC is an understudied disease. On her good days she’s an angel and will often seek to be near you. She’s perfectly content to curl up and be petted for hours while you work. She makes an excellent study buddy or supervisor. Clementine would do best in a calm, stable, low stress environment with someone who’s able to put some extra love and care into her. As an additional note, she does have some arthritis in her back left knee, seemingly from an old injury. Regardless, this doesn’t stop her as she still gets around perfectly fine and has no problem jumping up to the bed or couch. Just be mindful of it when picking her up or handling her and don’t panic if you see the occasional limp. While we’ve listed a lot of information above, please don’t let it overwhelm you. Her additional care is not very labor intensive, and truthfully only requires an extra 15-20 minutes out of the day. She will make an excellent addition to her forever home.