Calliope ("Callie") is a calico beauty with special needs, but please don't stop reading about her!  She is beautiful, loving, funny and outgoing -- and just might be the perfect cat for you!

Callie has a heart condition called hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. This means that the outflow pathway from the heart to the aorta is restricted, causing the blood to not be able to flow out of the heart easily. This makes the left ventricle, a chamber of the heart, have to work harder and become thicker in the muscle. 

When we pulled Callie from a high-kill shelter, she was very pregnant and her heart condition was unknown.  The pregnancy, birth and nursing of the kittens were very rough on Callie's then-unknown heart condition.   Once we realized she had a heart condition, we immediately weaned her kittens and had her seen by a veterinary cardiologist who continues to follow her.  Callie simply needs to take medications for the rest of her life, and she easily takes them all combined in one capsule in a pill pocket or with a pill popper.  She is unable to be spayed as the anesthesia is too risky so she has had the cat version of long acting birth control placed which will prevent her from going into heat.

The cardiologist said Callie will likely not have a normal life span, and in fact might have as little as a year in her hopefully future forever home.  But we all know miracles happen and cats and dogs often live longer than they were "supposed to" because no one told them the timeline!    

Since she came to us in May, poor Callie has been moved from foster home to foster home due to situations not having anything to do with her.  We would just love for someone to step up and commit to be her forever family, regardless of how long her forever ends up being.

You wouldn't know she has a heart issue. She plays, loves her catnip and kicker toys, runs around and chases anything you give her! She enjoys lap time, sleeping in bed with you, and helping unpack the groceries when you come home.

If you would like to give this girl a Forever Home, we would be thrilled to waive her adoption fee.  

Please consider helping Calliope find her forever family this Holiday season!