BENDY KITTEN'S WEBSITE

Above: In my very first set of braces. For the first time I was standing up straight! Left: little me showing how well I could move in my braces. It didn't take long to figure out I could jump and zoom around like the other kitties :)
HELLO! I AM BENDY KITTEN I AM THE PRODUCT OF TOO LITTLE KNOWLEDGE WHEN BREEDING. I AM A WONDERFUL KITTEN, BUT PLEASE DON'T MAKE MORE LIKE ME!!!! THIS IS ME AT 3 WEEKS, AFTER PHYSICAL THERAPY.
I WAS BORN WITH DEFORMED FEET THAT TURNED UNDER AND LEG BONES THAT WERE CURVED. I am NOT a "Twisty Cat". Twisties are missing some of their forearm bones, causing their legs to twist. Some of them are missing most of their forelegs completely! Twisties are the result of brother/sister breeding cats who have the gene for extra "fingers". I am not missing any bones, in fact I have extras. I am also accidental!
MY BOB-TAIL IS A LITTLE ZIG-ZAG. WHEN MOM GOT ME AND I HAD BEEN INJURED IN A FIGHT BETWEEN QUEENS, HOW MOM GOT ME AND ALL MY HALF SIBLINGS IS A VERY LONG, SAD STORY. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT SHE DID GET US, ME AT TWO WEEKS OLD! MOM BOTTLE RAISED ME AND MY HALF SISTER, SIX TOES. I ALSO HAD A FELINE MOM, NINGA. SHE WAS VERY SICK WITH HEART DISEASE BUT WAS HAPPY TO HAVE TWO CHILDREN TO TAKE CARE OF. SHE DIED ON 1/6/01, WE MISS HER VERY MUCH!
	THESE ARE MY TWO MOMS. ONE FEEDING ME WITH THE BOTTLE AND THE OTHER CLEANING ME AFTERWARDS! YOU CAN SEE SIX TOES, TOO. SHE WILL HAVE MORE PICTURES HERE LATER
AT SIX WEEKS OLD, I WAS PUT IN BRACES TO HELP MY FEET AND LEGS GROW CORRECTLY. XRAYS HAD SHOWN THAT MY WRIST BONES WERE VERY FAR APART AND MY LEG BONES WEREN'T ABLE TO CONNECT WITH THEM. THE GROWTH PLATES WERE GROWING, BUT NOT ATTACHING TO ANYTHING. WE HOPED THAT IN BRACES EVERYTHING COULD GROW TOGETHER CORRECTLY. WE ALSO HOPED THAT WITH EXCERSIZE MY OTHER BONES WOULD DEVELOP NORMALLY. IT DIDN'T TAKE ME LONG TO DISCOVER HOW FUN IT WAS TO RUN AND JUMP! MOM CHANGED MY BRACES SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK. I WAS ALWAYS VERY GOOD ABOU IT. I LIKED TO LICK MY FEET AFTER THEY WERE UNWRAPPED, THEY ITCHED! I NEVER TRIED TO SQUIRM AWAY OR TAKE MY BRACES OFF. MOM ALSO HAD BRACES ON, SHE SAID WE MATCHED.


ON NEW YEAR'S EVE OF 2000, MY BRACES CAME OFF FOR THE LAST TIME! MY LEGS HAVE BEEN STRAIGHT AND WONDERFUL EVER SINCE. I HAVE OTHER PROBLEMS, THO. I HAVE TROUBLE WITH A LOT OF KINDS OF FOOD, EVEN THE REALLY GOOD KIND. IF I EAT THE WRONG THING I GET HORRIBLE DIARHHEA. MOM HAS HAD TO TRIM MY LITTLE BUTT-FURS AND GIVE ME BATHS A LOT. PURINA KITTEN ONE AND BILL-JAC KITTEN GET ALONG WITH ME FINE. FOR EXTRA FIBER WE ALSO GET SCIENCE DIET W/D AND SQUASH!! THE VET TOLD MOM THAT PUMKIN WAS A GOOD SOURCE OF FIBER FOR KITTIES, MOM TRIED ACORN SQUASH TO SEE IF WE WOULD EAT IT. WE LOVE OUR SQUASH!! IT IS JUST COOKED PLAIN AND ALLOWED TO COOL. HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF ME AND MY HALF SIBLINGS. THEY WILL GET THEIR OWN PAGES LATER I HOPE!
	THIS IS SIX TOES (LEFT) AND HERMES. HERMES IS THE ONLY SURVIVOR OF HIS LITTER. HIS MAIN PROBLEM WAS FLEA ANEMIA AND EAR MITES, BUT HE ALSO HAS STOMACH PROBLEMS. SIX TOES WAS REJECTED BY HER FIRST MOM AT ONLY 3 DAYS OLD. SHE HAS BEEN BOTTLE RAISED EVER SINCE. SHE ALSO HAS STOMACH AND IMMUNE PROBLEMS.
THIS IS ME AND SIX-TOES. SHE HAS SIX TOES ON EACH OF HER BACK FEET.
	I HAVEN'T BEEN WITHOUT OTHER PROBLEMS. MOM CAME HOME ONE DAY TO FIND ME VERY LIIMP AND HOT AND SHAKING. SHE RUSHED ME TO THE EMERGENCY VET. I HAD A FEVER OF 106! I SPENT THE WHOLE WEEKEND IN ICU, SEE MY SHAVED ARMS? NO ONE EVER FIGURED OUT WHY I GOT SO SICK. FORTUNATLEY IT HASN'T HAPPENED AGAIN! YOU CAN ALMOST SEE MY THUMBS IN THIS PICTURE. I AM THE ONLY KITTEN WHO HAD TO HAVE ANY OF THE EXTRA TOES REMOVED. I HAD ONE GROWING IN MY PALM, AND ANOTHER BETWEEN MY THUMB AND "INDEX FINGER" WHICH HAD A BIG DEFORMED CLAW. THE CLAW COULD NOT RETRACT AND KEPT GETTING INGROWN. I WALK MUCH BETTER WITHOUT THEM! I ALSO HAVE TINY VESTIGAL TOES ON THE SIDES OF MY THUMBS, THE CLAWS ARE LITTLE STIFF PIECES THAT CURVE. THEY ARE SO SMALL YOU HAVE TO PUSH MY FUR AWAY TO SEE THEM! MOM SAYS THE EXTRA TOE GENE GOT STUCK IN A LOOP ON ME.
MOM HAS BEEN TRYING HARD TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH ALL US KITTENS. SHE HAS E-MAILED AND TALKED WITH BREEDERS AND READ A LOT ON THE WEB ABOUT FELINE GENETICS. POLYDACTYLISM IS A DOMINANT TRAIT, SO IF THE "BREEDER" JUST WANTED THUMBED CATS, OR EVEN CATS WITH EXTRA TOES, SHE DID NOT HAVE TO IN BREED. THE BOB TAIL IN US APPARENTLY COMES FROM A MANX HERITAGE. MANX ARE TRICKY TO BREED BECAUSE THE TAIL-LESS GENE IS ASSOCIATED WITH SOME MAJOR BIRTH DEFECTS. IF SOMEONE DOES NOT KEEP RECORDS AND DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE, YOU GET LITTERS LIKE ME. I AM THE ONLY SURVIVOR OF MY LITTER. TWO WERE STILLBORN, WITHOUT INTERNAL ORGANS. MY SISTER DIED AT ABOUT 2 MONTHS OLD. IF YOU KNOW ABOUT FELINE GENETICS AND WOULD LIKE TO HELP MOM PUT THE PIECES OF THIS KITTEN PUZZLE TOGETHER, PLEASE E-MAIL US! bendy@i-love-cats.com