* Dove found her forever home with lovely people! *

Dove was picked up from the side of a road by Hamilton Animal Services after possibly being hit by a car. She was taken directly to the vet where x-rays revealed that her pelvis is fractured. She was given pain medication and sent back to the shelter to wait out her stray time. The vet recommended strict cage rest, so she was set up with lots of soft blankets to keep her comfortable. Though she was not fully mobile, Dove was eating, drinking and using the litter box normally, which were all excellent signs that she may be able to make a full recovery. Nobody came forward to claim Dove, so we took her into our care.
Secondary xrays at our vet visit showed five different fractures in Dove’s pelvic area. Ouch!
The good news was, her joints were intact, and her pelvis was not shattered. Our vets sent Dove back to her foster home for eight weeks of cage rest with pain management medication. After this cage rest, Dove had another assessment, and she thankfully does not need surgery! Dove’s foster mom did a fantastic job keeping her rested and well cared for. Our vets warned that Dove may need surgery in the future, but for now she is mobile, pain free, and ready to find her forever home!

Here’s a note from Dove’s foster mom:
“Dove is simply one sweet & amazing cat. Dove had sustained 5 fractures in her pelvis & had a challenging treatment plan that she took in stride with much tolerance, & accepted with nothing but love. This speaks volumes about what a wonderful cat she really is.
Dove loves just about everyone she meets & her favourite thing is people!
She is a content cat overall & is happiest when lounging beside or on someone for pets, scratches & cuddles. There is no such thing as too much petting for Dove, she loves touch even if it is beside you kneading & purring away. She is one of the rare cats that genuinely loves even having her belly rubbed. While Dove is very affectionate she is also not pushy nor demanding in her love of affection & can be content with alone time when necessary, her personality is very well balanced.
Dove does have moments of playfulness but she is not a high energy cat, she prefers a chill lifestyle whether it be respectful exploring of the house or gazing out a window when she cannot be, you guessed it, lying with you.
Dove is not a very vocal cat but when she does vocalize it can be very loud! This can be attributed to the fact that she is completely deaf. The care of a deaf cat is not much different than that of a hearing cat & there are no medical issues surrounding her deafness, but simple consideration need to be taken into account. Like most deaf cats, Dove is highly visual, alert & aware of her surroundings when awake. She also of course can feel your movements or vibrations when lying on or beside you, & I am confident she can also at times smell when we have arrived home. When in a deep sleep she may not smell or feel arrivals so it is important not to sneak up with touch & startle her because that’s a rude awakening! The pros of course are you can vacuum away or drop a loud item by accident & that will not startle her!
After many weeks of recovery in her treatment plan, upon her reassessment & radiographs to evaluate her condition, her veterinarian was pleased with the results & recovery! While her pelvis did not heal perfectly we were thrilled to hear that surgery was not required at the end of the treatment plan healing. With this said, there are some deficits that will remain with Dove due to her injuries. Dove moves around, walks, jumps & plays like any other cat but there is a very slight limp to her left hind leg that the vet reports she will carry with her going forward. Because the left side was most affected & looks great now without surgery, the vet did advise it would impossible to say whether she may or may not require surgery on that left side in the future. Only time would tell whether she would be affected by some degeneration of the left ball & socket. So, an adopter will have to be prepared to monitor her limp over the months & years for signs of degeneration, & understand that she may require some surgical intervention in the future. Even if she doesn’t require surgery, she will likely suffer from arthritis in that hip later on in life, & maybe a little earlier than her senior years. At the present time Dove is totally pain & discomfort free.
Her past trauma also left Dove with a narrow pelvic canal, this is a common occurrence for an injury of her type. This means it affects her colon & ability to poop as she did before trauma. In Dove’s case it is not so narrow that she has ever experienced constipation or difficulty passing poop, but she will need to stay on a stool softener and/or special Fiber diet to keep her regular & pooping with ease. The softener as directed by the vet, is an inexpensive powder obtained from a drug store that is added to her canned food meal & she happily eats it because she loves her canned food! She also very much loves all her food, breakfast & dinner are very exciting for Dove & that’s when you may hear her fantastic loud meowing!
Dove takes her litter box duties very seriously & is consistent & very clean!
Dove would fit into a variety of forever homes whether it be a single person, a couple, or a family with older, taller children who understand the required respect involved in her deafness for startling, as well as who have predictable movements. I could see her being that viral video cat of lounging on a lap having a book read to her! Basically if you have a lap, hands & gentle touch, Dove loves you!
Dove is not good with other cats & would not be a good candidate for getting used to other cats.
Dove has done well with the small breed dogs in her foster home. She doesn’t love them, she doesn’t hate them. She is rather indifferent to them, & could live with small to medium size respectful dogs. Her time though is always wanting to be spent with you.
When I think of Dove I think: She loves hard. She cuddles. She chills. She will be a great best friend.”