Rolling Dog Farm Blog

Bonnie and Clyde, a brother and sister pair of cats, arrived at the ranch last night.  Jerry Black, our awesome volunteer who serves as ‘animal chauffeur,’ picked them up at the Missoula airport and brought them out to the ranch. These cats have cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological condition that affects their fine motor skills and balance.  Our beloved cat, Wobbles, and our recent arrival Allie, were both born with the same condition. 

Bonnie and Clyde were tiny kittens when a college student from Austin, Texas found them on the street one rainy night two years ago.  He took them home to his parents.  Now his folks are ‘downsizing’  and had been trying to find a place that would take these two cats.  They finally  learned about us, and we agreed to take them.  After first Wobbles and then Allie stole our hearts, we developed a real soft spot for cerebellar hypoplasia animals.

These two cats are very shy and 24 hours after arriving, are still lurking in a crate, even though they are free to come and go in the animal cottage.  I took this photo about 5 p.m. today.  Bonnie, the all-black one, is bigger, more outgoing, and has less of the ‘wobbles.’  Her brother Clyde is the wallflower of the two and has the more pronounced case of the wobbles. 

Our experience is that it takes the shy ones about 3 days on average to gain their confidence, come out and begin exploring their new world.