Cat McAuliffe
When Megan visited an adoption event at a PetSmart near her home in the Iowa Quad Cities, she met a tortoiseshell kitten who was taken to the local shelter two months after she and her siblings were born to a feral mother. “We didn’t meet her until she was about four months old,” says Megan. “Her eyes were only very slightly cloudy. The shelter just said it was probably from an infection when she was tiny before she came in.”
Shortly after meeting her for the first time, Megan and her family adopted the beautiful tortie in January 2018, naming her Marceline, or Marcy for short. “My son named her Marceline from Adventure Time,” explains Megan. “I call her Marceline Mouse or Marcy Mae.” Marceline settled into her new home, introducing her family to her trademark tortitude, but when her eyes became even cloudier despite treatment for an infection, Megan took her to the vet for a thorough examination.
Eventually, Marceline was diagnosed with keratoconus, an eye condition that affects the shape of the cornea, causing it to thin and bulge outward. However, the vet wasn’t able to determine the underlying cause of Marceline’s keratoconus. “The vet believes it’s one of two different diseases and we won’t know for sure until she has eye surgery,” explains Megan, “but as long as she is healthy and pain-free, we will hold off on surgery for now.”
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In order to strengthen Marceline’s corneas, the veterinarian prescribed medicated eye drops, which took a while for this feisty feline to get used to. “Since she’s a tortie, she has quite a bit of tortitude and being held against her will to put drops in her eyes was not fun at the start,” says Megan. “Now she’s pretty chill and lets me put them in without much issue.”
While keratoconus has impacted Marceline’s vision, she’s not actually blind, enabling her to still play tricks on her mom. “She can see pretty well,” says Megan, “well enough to steal the car keys or my glasses from the table.”
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In addition to taking Megan’s belongings, this young cat — who will turn two in September 2019 — enjoys fighting with her family’s dog, Betsy, playing with her toys, taking naps, eating, relaxing in her hammock, and walking around the house yelling, proving she’s a pretty typical feline.
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Even though Marceline isn’t in any discomfort, it’s possible her eye condition may cause her pain in the future, so she needs routine veterinary appointments to monitor her keratoconus. “She has to go to the vet more than the average cat,” explains Megan, “but she’s doing well on eye drops for now.”
However, aside from needing daily medication and slightly more vet visits than the average kitty, Marceline is pretty easy to take care of, and Megan hopes other people will realize special needs cats really aren’t all that different. “They are just like any cat and want our love,” says Megan.
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While this gorgeous tortie girl may not like to be picked up, Megan is still able to show Marceline how much she loves her by giving her the care she needs to have a happy and healthy life. “She’s such a sweet girl,” says Megan, “even if I can’t hold her.”
To learn more about this stunning cat, you can follow Marceline on Instagram.
