Loving and caring for cats is a huge part of Jenn’s life. In the daytime she is a Vet Tech at Williamson County Animal Center. In the evenings, during kitten season, she frequently fosters orphaned kittens who cannot yet eat solid food and require bottle feeding every couple of hours. It’s a serious commitment to say the least. In 2012 on Memorial Day weekend a litter of four, 2week old kittens were dropped off at the shelter late in the day. The kittens were covered in fleas, starving, and in desperate need of tender loving care. Sadly, the whereabouts of the mother were unknown and never discovered. At the time Jenn had zero experience with such young kittens, but knowing nobody else could foster them, she decided to take them home and give saving the little kittens her best shot. Otherwise the kittens were destined to starve to death without human intervention at this point, since there was no nursing mother to be found, and not even another mother currently nursing. And rise to the challenge she did! All four kittens (Natailia, Natalie, Natasha and Norman) survived! The following Tuesday, 2 more kittens (Nora and Noah) were brought to the shelter by the same person, so it was assumed they were from the same litter. Once again, Jenn was up for a challenge and agreed to take in the two kittens. For five weeks she labored with love and fatigue while bottle feeding six kittens. At eight weeks the kittens were ready for adoption. Having especially bonded with two kittens (nub tail Nora and no tail Natalia), Jenn felt especially sentimental at the thought of saying goodbye and seeing them them get adopted.
Natalia who was born without a tail had sadly developed nerve damage also known as “lumbosacral dysgenesis” and suffered from incontinence and joint pain/malformation. With such nerve damage accompanies many healthy problems Natalia was destined to struggle with such as chronic uti’s, constipation, diarrhea, hip pain, arthritis and more. Heartbroken and never having to euthanize a pet, Jenn made the toughest choice any animal lover with make, to have Natalia humanely euthanized.
Despite knowing Nora also had the possibility of developing some of the same issues as her sister Natalia, since she too had a malformed tail, Jenn went ahead an adopted her the same day she said an emotional goodbye to Natalia. Thankfully, Nora has been a happy, relative healthy cat and is now 4 yrs. old. She is affectionate, full of energy, and even plays fetch. When Nora is in the room she is a constant source of entertainment and joy. I think it’s pretty safe to say Nora has Jenn’s heart wrapped around her paw.
When I met Nora she was incredibly friendly and playful! My cat toys were a hit and she really turned it on for the camera. It was so heartwarming seeing Jenn’s eyes light up while watching Nora. The love, devotion, and emotional bond she feels for her beloved Nora was written all over her face during our time together. I think you will know what I mean when you view the pictures of the bonded pair. May the two have a continued healthy and happy life together!
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