Written by Christna du Plessis
Professional photography by Meraki Photos
When we decided to adopt a kitten, we knew it would be special to us – we had no idea how special she would be…
Wanted: one indoor kitty
After a long and happy life, we lost our Siamese cat, Kallie, who was around 18 years old. In time, once we felt ready, we decided to look for a kitten that would stay indoors and not explore the dangers outside our yard.
I came across the Kempton Park Feral and Abandoned Cats Facebook page and, on the 6th of April 2018, spotted a gorgeous jet-black kitten. The post said: “Special needs baby looking for her family...”. I immediately contacted Candice Kruger and was so happy that the kitten was still available.
With thanks for their utmost love and concerns for these vulnerable little lives under their care and their strict homing procedures that we respected at all times, we were blessed and approved to have Ziva come and live with us.
Special squitten
Ziva’s front legs have never developed fully. The bone structure stopped at what we will call her elbows, and therefore she walks like a squirrel and at times like a kangaroo. One might also explain it by saying that she leopard crawls; she relies on her hind legs all the time for most of her movement.
Despite this, Ziva shows no effect of disability. She was born like this and has no problem moving around, although she does try to climb curtains but with no success... thank goodness. Ziva has claws which are abnormally wide and thick but cannot grab or scratch as she has no strength because of the incomplete bone structure.
When drinking water from her bowl she prevents herself from falling forward by placing her arms on the side of it. She catches moths and hunts lizards with some success, whilst a bird will get away as she cannot hold or grip it. You could almost say that the front part of her arms and hands are like rubber. She’s very vocal – she talks, bumps her head against you and licks like a dog and takes treats from your hand while sitting in an upright position – just like a squirrel.
Ziva’s rescue
Lizeth de Villiers of Kempton Park Feral and Abandoned Cats recalls: “Ziva was born to a feral cat in an elderly couple’s yard; her siblings were ‘normal’ – only Ziva was different.
“Kittens with Ziva’s condition are commonly called Squittens (a portmanteau of squirrel and kitten) because they sit in an upright position on their hind legs like squirrels.”
Lizeth explains that squittens do well in a good home but they need to be homed as indoor cats only with only supervised garden visits to the outdoors. This makes it harder for them to find a home. Lizeth smiles: “We’re so glad that Ziva was adopted by two amazing Mommies!”
Ziva and her siblings went into foster care with Kathy Raffray, who got to know little Ziva well: “Despite her physical challenge, she was just as playful as her siblings. Their favourite game was to run like mad up and down my passage until they were all completely exhausted! In her mind she’s exactly the same as all the other kittens. She really has no clue that she’s physically different.”
A much-loved kitty
Ziva’s foster mommy, Kathy Raffray, really took good care of her; she was clean, tick- and flea-free, calm and sociable – one could tell by her behaviour that she’d been much loved whilst in her care.
Ziva is very playful and loves her two Yorkshire Terrier “sisters”, Lila and Mille. The three of them practise athletics every morning (by running and chasing one another in and outside the house). Her sisters also look out for her should any other strange visitor want to come and have a tiff with her inside her space, seeing as she’s unable to protect herself.
We are blessed to have this bundle of joy and love in our lives. She brings a lot of joy to all of us.
Thank you to all who made her life easier and took care of her before she came home.
Kempton Park Feral and Abandoned Cats is a volunteer-run non-profit organisation (NPO 157-951) caring for feral cats in the Kempton Park area in Gauteng. Their aim is to maintain healthy, stable feral cat colonies through the Trap-Neuter-Release method. They care for over 80 colonies with food, sterilisation and medical care where needed. They don’t have a shelter; their focus is entirely on the felines living on the edges of our society – the ferals. They rely entirely on donations. For more information and to find out how you can help, contact kemptonferals@gmail.com and visit them on Facebook @Kemptonferals https://www.facebook.com/Kemptonferals/
Watch little Ziva in action
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EP5i6qnPLan2v21Un9cODGksD_yCTlak/view
