From rescued to rehomed: Jordy’s story

Here at SPCA, sick kittens come into our care in a variety of different ways. Left in boxes, outside Centres, found lost and alone in someone’s garden, or on the side of the road. In Jordy and Corby’s case, they were found amongst reeds on the edge of a lake.

Thankfully, two teenage boys spotted them in the nick of time. They waded through the water and searched through the grass, scooping them up to take them to SPCA’s centre in Masterton.

Jordy and Corby arrived at SPCA in a dire way.

Both felines were underweight, stepping on the scales at just 300 grams. Their tiny bodies were fighting off a severe case of cat flu and for Jordy, the cat flu had caused irreversible damage to her eyes.

Jordy and Corby were named after the valiant teenage boys who rescued them – Jordan and Corban! After they were given the all clear by our veterinary team, they went into foster care with one of our SPCA team Rachel, who carefully monitored them over the days ahead.

A Centre environment can be a stressful place for a lot of animals, particularly sick animals like Jordy and Corby. Foster care not only gives our animals a calm, home environment to recover but it also prepares them for what to expect when they find a forever home too! It was touch and go, but Jordy and Corby proved to be a stoic pair, defying the odds and fighting off the illness, as well as a tummy bug and ringworm.

After weeks in foster care, Jordy’s eyes hadn’t improved and the team confirmed she was permanently blind. Removing her ravaged eyes was the best option to prevent any unwanted implications for Jordy down the track.

We knew that Jordy could thrive as a blind cat in the right home. We weren’t going to deny her the chance to live a happy, pain-free life simply on the basis that she was blind.

Jordy made the journey to SPCA Wellington’s Hospital Unit to receive the specialist eye surgery she needed. Once again, our team was left in awe of this little girl’s resilience. Jordy bounced back from surgery, making a complete recovery.

Now, there was just one step left in her SPCA journey – adoption!

When Anita stumbled upon Jordy’s profile online, it was impossible not to fall in love with her – quirks and all.

Adoption papers were signed and Jordy was adopted into a loving indoor-only lifestyle in Anita’s home, where her disability wouldn’t hold her back from living life to the fullest.

Anita says Jordy has settled in at home beautifully and grown into a truly lovely cat. She even went with them on a trip to the Sounds!

“Her name is now Hiwa - the short form of Hiwa-i-te-Rangi - the youngest of the Matariki cluster and the star one wishes on at the start of the year. Hiwa most commonly translates as vigorous but also light-hearted, both of which suit her perfectly!

She has grown into a lovely, very friendly, happy cat. She loves us to bits; she greets us as soon as we get home. She stands by the backdoor and shouts until I come back when I take the compost out, and just chooses to be where we are.

One of the big deals in the last few months is that we decided to take her down to the Sounds with us. She absolutely loved it! She was completely fine in the car and on the ferry. She got to know the bach really quickly, and it has a balcony we could gate off for her, so she had free access to all the smells of the outside world.

Mostly though, I just wanted you all to know she’s happy and well, and that all the care and love you put into her has paid off. She is a happy, loving cat living a great life - thank you.”