09/03/2026
A lot has happened since our AI adjacent kittens joined the breadbox.
In case you missed it, Muffin Top and his sister Moonpie were brought into the shelter as strays. They had giant eyes that didn’t fit their oddly round faces, their legs were short and stubby and also bowed, and they were distinctly football shaped. The vet there didn’t know what was causing these features, but what they did know was that Muffin Top was not p**ping, so they reached out for rescue placement.
We brought him over to VEG, and they agreed two things needed to happen: he needed IV fluids and a thyroid test. So they grabbed some blood, and hooked him up to that high-quality H2O, decorated his kennel, and started a series of enemas.
The truth is that he would not have survived much longer without this intervention. Congenital hypothyroidism, is quite rare, but a surprising number of cats die from it, because it is under diagnosed as a generic “dwarfism”, or even worse, “failure to thrive”. Ugh. What’s crazier, is that the cats that don’t survive, often pass from complications of constipation like megacolon, bowel perforations, and eventually sepsis.
As far as the hypothyroidism is concerned, Muffin Top was doing so great. But then one day he woke up with cloudy eyes and zero vision. We immediately consulted with an ophthalmologist, who determined he had Ocular FIP - a condition that is fatal without treatment.
After a few weeks of treatment, Muffin Top is nearly a totally normal kitten! He can see and p**p perfectly, and he’s thinning out beautifully.
We are so grateful to our rescue partner, , for providing us with a generous mighty cat grant to help cover the cost of his hospitalization, as well as the diagnostics and initial treatments for his thyroid, tummy troubles, eyeball excitement, and FIP.
So while there’s still a long road ahead, we have so much to celebrate, especially our rescue partners who made getting to this point possible. Early intervention is key to survival for these kittens, and we are so grateful to Orphan kitten Club for giving us the kickstart we needed to save Muffin Top’s life. (Twice)
