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Very Special Special-Needs!!! Introducing Annie Sullivan and her brother,
Marco Polo!
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| Marco Polo and Annie Sullivan |
A few Saturdays ago, two eight-week-old kittens arrived at Indianapolis Animal Care and Control. Their caretaker could
no longer keep them, so these two babies were surrendered to the city shelter. Annie Sullivan was an adorable calico, perfect
in every way. Her brother, Marco Polo, didn't appear quite so perfect. Despite a lush and thick white and orange coat
and a sweet personality, Polo had a problem . . . he appeared to have no eyes. It seemed as tho this baby was blind. So into
intake they went. And that set some things into motion. Rosie Ellis from Southside Animal Shelter happened to be
at ACC that afternoon and saw the babies. She immediately got on the phone and called Barb at Cats Haven. At the same time,
a pet owner who blogs on IndyPaws.com saw the kittens and posted them on this website. So at the time Rosie was talking to
Barb, The Other Sue saw them on IndyPaws.com. Finally catching up with each other, Barb and The Other Sue decided that Cats
Haven would take them. The following morning, The Other Sue picked them up from ACC and took them to her house "for a
couple of days" until they could visit the Cat Doctor.
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Three days later, the kittens had their first appointment with Dr. Alice Johns at the Cat Doctor. Annie Sullivan, a gorgeous
calico with huge eyes, was determined to be in perfect health, despite the remnants of a few fleas. She was pretty, feisty,
curious, and adorable. She also seemed to have a strong attachment to her brother, Marco Polo. She would clean him, snuggle
with him, and play with him. It was obvious that they were a "bonded pair."
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Then it was time to examine Polo. At first glance, this baby appeared to be lacking eyes. But upon further examination,
it was found that Polo did indeed have eyes . . . very tiny eyes behind sagging eyelids. Dr. Johns explained that this is
a condition called "micro opthalmia," (small eyes) and that although not uncommon, it's a birth defect that
isn't seen on a regular basis. It was also discovered that Polo had a broken tail. We're not sure if this, too, is
a birth defect, or if he was injured at some point. It didn't seem to bother him, however, and the kittens were sent home
with some eye antibiotic ointment for Polo.
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When the Other Sue first had the kittens, she felt that Polo had some limited vision. He seemed to be able to follow
light and motion, and the confirmation the he did have eyes made sense. He loves to chase the laser pointer, can wait behind
a door and pounce on his sister, and is able to find his foster mom with no trouble. He also loves to "kill" catnip
toys! So Dr. Johns did a little research, and decided that Polo should have an "eyelid lift." With
his eyes being so small, there was nothing behind the eyelids to hold them up. They just kind of flopped over the small, deformed
eyes that he had. On Friday, October 17th, Annie Sullivan was spayed, and Polo was neutered. At that time, Dr. Myra Jones
also did Polo's eye surgery. Both kittens came through their operations with flying colors, and both remain at The Other
Sue's house, being pampered and babied like all kittens should be! Polo appears to be able to see a little better, although
Dr. Jones says that there is no reason why those eyes should work! She says that there is nothing there to indicate the eyes
are functional in the least. But Polo still chases after anything that moves, and Annie still cleans him and snuggles with
him.
Annie and Polo will eventually be available for adoption to the right family. No one is sure how long Polo's vision
will last; he could have limited vision for the rest of his life, or he could be completely sightless at some point. He and
Annie will need to be adopted together because like Annie Sullivan was to Helen Keller, this Annie Sullivan is a teacher and
caretaker to Marco Polo. Annie and Polo will be at the Indy Cat Club cat show on Saturday, October 25th. They
will both be there representing all special-needs animals everywhere. Please come out to the Fairgrounds on the 25th and meet
these two incredible little fuzzballs. One of these days, when Polo gets a little bigger, maybe he and Annie are the purrrrr-fect
kitties for YOU!
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Cats Haven has many special-needs kitties who simply want a loving home. Consider adopting a special-needs animal!!
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