This wee one was born with water on the brain and twisted legs, but he has a huge heart and an incredible will to persevere! A woman saved him from across the country when the shelter had just about given up on him.
Zeke the tuxedo kitten was only 13 weeks old when Lisa Jones of Super Heros Animal Hydrocephalus Society rescued him from being euthanized by a local rescue.
They got the little one onto a plane and he was on his way to a new life in his new forever home. “He flew from Texas to La Guardia airport in New York City,” and only weighed about 14 ounces at the time.
This brave little warrior was born with a medical condition called Hydrocephalus (commonly known as water on the brain. The “fluid in his head does not flow properly and collects beneath the skull, putting extreme pressure on his brain.”) and various other skeletal disorders including being a Twisty Cat.
Despite the disabilities which he has, Zeke has developed a way of getting around that involves walking on his elbow and sometimes hopping like Kanga the cat.
“Zeke is hysterical, behaving as any normal kitten should, and despite all of his disabilities, he has a heck of A LOT OF ABILITIES!!!” Lisa wrote on Facebook.
“He romps, rolls, plays and unsuccessfully tried to climb (but it was a good try) and believes his litter box is actually a sand box and digs and somersaults all around in the litter. How do you correct a behavior that is just beyond adorable??? You don’t, you just make sure it’s constantly clean!”
“Zeke is such a smart little guy for all his issues. He knows his name, comes when you call and you can see how frustrated he actually gets with both of his front legs when he cannot do something. It is amazing the amount of higher intelligence that he possesses.”
“(Medically), he has a lot of issues that complicate one another and it’s taking time to figure out how best to tackle each one. Eventually we’ll get the whole puzzle put together so for now, one step at a time.”
“But despite all of his challenges, he’s still a kitten at heart and loves exploring, being silly and he’s even trying to climb. He’s figured out that he can climb the mesh laundry basket or screen door and has managed to get all 4 feet off the floor but does not have the strength to climb yet. But I know he’ll get it eventually as he grows.”
Zeke has formed a special bond with Super Hero, his brother from another mother, who also was born with hydrocephalus.
“Super Hero has taken Zeke under his wing and watches out for him like a little brother. If Zeke is going somewhere he isn’t supposed to be, Hero herds him back into the room or redirects his attention by gently tapping him with his paw.”
Zeke tells his humans every day how happy he is for having a second chance at life. May Zeke and his human live happily after after!
