Our beloved first floor resident of two years finally found his way home yesterday. Max Poncho arrived here at Tree House as a very young kitten alongside his brother, Jax Honcho. Of a litter of four kittens, these two were born with something called Cerebellar Hypoplasia – a neurological disorder that leaves the cerebellum in the brain under-developed. These two kittens therefore were to be left with wobbly, shaky motor skills for the rest of their lives. For anyone who met these two, it was apparent that they are more severe CH cases than is normally seen, but has it ever really slowed them down? Of course not.
Here are a few things that I learned from my time with Max Poncho, or Maxie as I always found myself calling him…
Be patient – If you watch Max get around, your first thought probably isn’t, “wow, what a graceful creature!” However, after several months of watching him make laps around our first floor at the Uptown branch – from clinic to lobby then back down towards the development office – I found myself thinking over and over how remarkably graceful he was, given his disorder; no, in spite of his disorder. Whether he was running after a toy or prancing down the hall at the sound of a treat bag, he always got where he wanted to be and he was never mad about how long it took to get there.
If you fall down, get back up – Again, regardless of where he was going, he always made it eventually. The fact that he took a tumble or bumped into something unintentionally never once made him stop and give up. Even if you run into obstacles – even if life itself seems like an obstacle – never let that stop you from getting up and trying again. This is, as Max has always shown us, the nature of life. You just have to keep on keeping on.
Get by with a little help from your friends – Okay, maybe the Beatles taught us this one first, but Max definitely re-enforced this lesson from his very first day.You could see that he really has learned over time how to compensate for his difference in motor function. Splayed back legs, tail slightly down and straight out for balance, he would lean against walls or legs as he wandered around. Aside from just leaning on friends from time to time, he got by from the very beginning thanks in large part to the attentive love and care by the staffers and volunteers here at Tree House. So be like Max – lean on your friends, and know that they will help you along and catch you when you feel like you’re falling.
All you need is love – Alright fine, another Beatles lesson. But Max, with his rough start in life and obstacles to overcome daily, shows us every day that things will be okay so long as you’ve got love. If a cat can smile, Max surely does – every time he got to sit on a lap or lounge next to a staffer in a warm blanketed chair. His amazing adopter showed this very same lesson! As we explained to her that Max’s disorder made it difficult for him to always make it to the litter box, she accepted this in stride. She loved this squishy adorable cat (as we all do), and she knew that was enough. Everything else is just details.
There are always lessons to be learned from creatures big and small. Take a minute to reflect on what your furry friends are teaching you.
Posted by Samantha A.
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