Lexie

My story

Lexie (about 2 and a half years old as of March 2025) is a spayed female lynx point shorthaired kitten. Lexie was found in a feral cat colony in Winthrop Harbor. A volunteer came to pick up 3 of Lexie's younger cousins to bring into foster care and the caretaker mentioned there were also 3 older kittens that might be savable, but when they went to look for them they found her two littermates had tragically been attacked and killed by some kind of wildlife and Lexie was unexpectedly paralyzed from the waist down. Thankfully when we had Lexie's back x-rayed her spine was intact, and the vets noted she had some sensation in her hind legs and tail so there was hope the paralysis could improve with physical therapy. Lexie's foster family has been working with her and she now has about 20% normal function in one hind leg and 10-15% in the other. Lexie gets around crazy fast just pulling herself around on her front legs, even on smooth flooring, and she just never feels the need to try to use her back legs outside of physical therapy. Several carts have been made to help Lexie with her physical therapy in the hopes we can find a design she likes enough to really build up some strength and coordination in her cute little noodly legs but she really prefers the scootin' life. As far as special needs go Lexie is otherwise in great health and other than the occasional urinary tract infection is a happy, playful, and sweet little cat. The main concern is that with her unique style of getting around and lessened awareness of what is going on in her back end she doesn't always make it to and -in- the litterbox and usually needs extra help cleaning up. Sometimes having her legs overstimulated and moved in certain ways can also stimulate the wrong nerves and cause her to leak a little, but thankfully that has gotten better as she has grown older. She gets along pretty well with other cats- she is a little more mellow than most cats her age and can be a little overwhelmed by the constant antics of younger kittens, so we think Lexie would be a great little sister to a slightly older cat, especially one that still likes to play a little and wouldn't be overwhelmed if she got the scooting zoomies! She also plays well by herself and would probably be happy as an only cat if she got lots of attention. She doesn't interact with dogs too much but is used to having one in her foster home so she could probably handle living with a calm, cat friendly dog. For having been caught as an older kitten she really likes people and has grown to trust them with all the extra TLC she has needed, so we think she'd be fine for kids as long as they are old enough to understand her special needs and not chase her around and be mindful of litterbox accidents so a little mess didn't become a huge mess.

If you have any questions or would like to adopt Lexie, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.