The kitten season seemed to be finally winding down in early December as I returned what came to be the last kittens of the year that I fostered. I casually asked Liz my standard question upon returning foster kittens, which was "Any new kittens?" When she said no kittens, I asked her about any adult cats. Her eyes lit up and she asked me, " Have you seen Heidi?" I replied that no, I had not. She dropped everything and took me over to the isolation building to show me a very special cat named Heidi, who was suffering from URI. Liz said that everyone loved Heidi, and that I had to see her paw. I have to admit that I had never seen a cat that looked quite like Heidi. Heidi was a small sized Calico kitty, about 4 years old. She was missing her right eye and she had a deformed right front paw that was bent forward in such a way that some people might find disturbing to behold. However, when you greeted her, she would stick the paw up in the air and stretch out her claws, kneading the air like she was asking for a high five. I told Liz that I would foster her for URI recovery for a few weeks. Little did I know what this would lead to.

I have fostered a number of kittens and cats over the last few years, and while it is always emotionally hard to return them, I have managed to resist adopting them, with only a few exceptions. However, I started to get attached to Heidi after only a week. By two weeks she had fully recovered from her URI, but I was stalling about returning her. I rationalized it by telling myself that it was almost Christmas and it would be a shame to have her back at PAWS, spending her Christmas alone and in a cage. So, she spent it with me and my other cats, and enjoyed sitting under my Christmas tree and knocking down an ornament now and then. The time finally arrived when I could not put it off any longer, so I took her in for her spaying, and ensuing availability for adoption. I had only a few days to make a decision about adopting her. Friends and relatives were of no help, as they all said I was crazy to get another cat, especially one who might have medical issues. This became more of a concern after Heidi was spayed and I talked to the PAWS veterinarian. It was discovered that Heidi had several deformities in the right side of her reproductive system. This lent more weight to the idea that all her deformities were congenital rather than impact trauma, as I had originally believed. What else might be wrong? I wondered. I figured that if she had made it this far, then there was nothing seriously wrong. So, despite friends and relatives' counsel, and the veterinarian's two pages of intimidating notes, I decided to adopt Heidi. It is a decision over which I have no regrets.

Heidi is a wonderful cat and I am discovering more about her personality as each week goes by. She has her own unique style of play, given the compromised vision and support of her right front leg. She loves the foam rubber soccer balls and will flop down by them and push them around with her nose. When she is really fired up she can swat them with her good leg while propping herself up on the bent leg. She also loves to go after bugs, and their only chance of escape is if they go to her blind side. The look on her face of "Where did it go?" is very amusing. She loves to be held and will purr and bury her head under your chin. If I ignore her too long, she will walk in front of me and flop down on the floor and stretch out, demanding attention.

I often wonder what her life was like before she came to PAWS, but I like to think that she is happy now and enjoying the carefree life of a spoiled cat. Now I just have to work on my resistance to adopting the next foster cat that comes my way.