This week in the world of Monday Miracles, we’re checking in with another cat with wobbly kitten syndrome (or cerebellar hypoplasia if you’re going to be all scientifically accurate about the condition).
Her name is Geordi Olive, and she has become a viral sensation after a video of her drunken-style strutting hit Facebook. The footage also secured her a forever home.
Here’s how it happened.
In November of last year, a stray black-and-white kitten arrived at the Watauga Humane Society. According to Christy Watson, the shelter’s Adoption Center manager, “She was very affectionate and playful” but obviously a little different to the other cats and kittens around her.
“We started noticing her condition immediately, but we were unfamiliar with cerebellar hypoplasia at that time, so we placed her in a foster home with one of our medical technicians,” says Christy.
“As we learned more about the condition, it was apparent that Olive wasn’t aware of her disabilities and played like a normal kitty!”
It was at this point that a video of Olive walking appeared on the shelter’s Facebook feed.
Christy describes the adorable footage this way: “Olive walks with a tremor to her head and it shimmies all the way down to her legs. She wobbles when she walks with a kind of drunken gait.”
On a day-to-day basis, Olive’s wobbly kitten status means that she can have a tough time walking on hard surfaces — rugs and carpets are easier for her to traverse on — and she needs a lower-lipped litter box. High ledges are also something that she struggles to surmount. But beyond that, Christy says that Olive is a sweet-natured kitten who “loves to play and be held.”
Those traits worked in Olive’s favor when she was officially put up for adoption — and in January of this year she wound up moving in with a couple who have had previous experience caring for special needs kitties.
An update to her official Instagram page shows that Olive is doing great — although her mobility issues are still at play. “She can’t always hold herself up for long, and they’ll often just give out,” reads a post about her back legs. “It doesn’t hurt her, but we always try to help her back up!”
It also seems that Olive’s new humans have become so smitten with her that they’re now positively advocating for special needs adoption cats. As they put it in the caption to yet another adorable picture of this wobbly kitten:
“If you’re thinking about a new kitty for your home and are up to the challenge, I promise you’ll never feel so loved than the affection you’ll get from a cat with a disability.”
Waddle over to Olive’s Instagram page to check out more about her story.
Read about more Monday Miracles:
- Refugee Cat: Kunkush Crossed a Continent to Rejoin His Family
- Isabella Survived Being Put in a Microwave as a Kitten
- Little John the Stray Survived Being Shot With an Arrow
About the author: Phillip Mlynar writes about cats, music, food, and sometimes a mix of all three. He considers himself the world’s foremost expert on rappers’ cats.
