Munchie's story starts under a shed in a Good Samaritan's back yard. Munchie was under that shed with his brother Crunchie and his sister Peanut. These three kittens happily played in the summer grass while their semi-feral momma kept watch. The Good Samaritan knew that life would be hard for Momma, especially if she kept having litters of kittens, so she arranged to have Momma trapped, spayed, and then released again (known as "Trap-Neuter-Release" or TNR). She also made the committment to continue to care for her to make sure she makes it through the changing seasons by providing food, water, and shelter. The kittens though were another matter. They were young enough that they could be rescued, tamed, and find good homes. So once Mom was safe, Crunchie, Munchie, and Peanut needed to find a foster home.

Munchie's lopsided stage

Foster parents from CARA stepped forward to take care of the kittens. The furry trio went to the vet for the first time and were given all the normal treatments for fleas, worms, kitten shots, and, of course, tested for yucky kitty diseases. These guys went through it all and appeared to be normal, well, everyone except for Munchie. Our CARA vet, Dr. Ruth from All Paws Vet Center, noticed that Munchie was slower developmentally than his siblings. Even though all of them played, ate, and generally appeared normal, one side of Munchie's face was behaving "neurologically". He had a squinty "Popeye" look to him, but this was something he had since he was about 4 weeks old. Nothing seemed to bother this little guy. He got into as much mischief as his brother and sister; in fact, Munchie was the biggest mischief-maker of them all.

When the kittens went to be spayed and neutered, Dr. Ruth again paid special attention to Munchie's face. The side of his head with the squinting eye appeared smaller than the other side, but there were still no other symptoms; he played, ate, and acted like any other young kitten. But when Dr. Ruth closed her eyes and felt his bone structure, both sides were the same size! Immediately she had to change her thinking: one side wasn't too small - the opposite side was too big! When she looked in his ears, nothing appeared unusual... until large amounts of pus began to push out of the ear. You see, as he was being examined, the cause for the difference in Munchie's face became clear. He had a very serious deep ear infection - on the side of his head with the squinting eye, the opposite side from the one that was puffy and oozing pus. After x-rays, it was determined that this infection had caused so much damage that he needed to have his inner ear bones removed to save his life.

The surgeon said the surgery was going to make him better. Better? He always acted normal. How could he have such an infection and not know it? The doctors think that this boy acquired this infection so early in his life that he just did not know he was in pain - pain was normal for him! Surgery was not going to be cheap: $1000 meant some pain for CARA's pocketbook but didn't this sweet loving little guy deserve a chance?

Tracy's Heart to the rescue! Tracy's Heart Fund was established for just this kind of situation. Tracy Gross was a beloved founding member of CARA, a young woman with a family, who passed away to breast cancer in 2005. Tracy's specialty was sick kittens, and Munchie was the purr-fect first recipient for Tracy's Heart.

Munchie just after his surgery. His head is now much more upright.

Munchie underwent dramatic surgery. They removed all the bones in his ear, and he will always be deaf on that side. He has since recovered very well. But if he had not been in the doctor's office that day, there was a good chance the infection would have broken open into his brain and killed him. He will always be a "special needs" cat, however Munchie will always have someone to love him. He has found his forever home with his former foster parents. Maybe we should have named him Lucky!

by DorothyBelle Poli