SPECIAL.

DiNozzo has always been special. That’s not to say that Malley and Riley aren’t–they are!–but DiNozzo began life with certain challenges most kitties don’t. Rather than just being a carrier, DiNozzo came to us at 6 weeks old with active, chronic feline herpes. He’s contagious and thus, will spread it to any cats we get. (We didn’t know this until he’d already given it to Riley and Malley.)

He also has a congenital birth defect in his paws. As he grew, they grew crooked. At first, they gave him a lot of pain and he spent several months in various leg casts as his body changed. Once he stopped growing, they stopped hurting, but they’re still crooked. He’s technically fine, but he’s not typical.

Then at age 4, he developed hyperesthesia and epilepsy. He takes three different medications, twice daily, to control his seizures. Before meds, he was having upwards of 40-45 seizures per day. That’s very, very rare in cats.

The fact that DiNozzo thinks he’s the Admiral isn’t surprising. We’ve spoiled him rotten. But then, every seizure he has could be his last.

Every day we have with him is a gift. <3