6-month-old Munchkin kitten that lost body parts to rare illness looking for new home

BOSTON — A young munchkin kitten has spent the last couple of months fighting a rare illness is hoping to find it’s new forever home.

Dollie, a six-month-old munchkin cat, was preparing to spend her first holiday season with her new family when she started acting strange, according to MSCPA-Angell. Her symptoms, which started with bouts of lethargy, progressed to changes to her skin and ears her family couldn’t ignore.

When Dollie was brought to the animal shelter in November, her ears fell off and parts of her skin were dying.

“It impacted her extremities, including her tail, legs, and most of her ear tissue. We had never seen anything like it,” wrote MSPCA on Facebook.

Dollie’s family, overwhelmed by the kitten’s onslaught of medical issues, surrendered her to the animal care organization. MSPCA says diagnosing Dollie’s illness required a massive effort from Angell’s network of specialists.

“Our dermatology team, based in Angell West in Waltham, came to Boston to examine Dollie. They determined that her symptoms were typical for a problem called ischemic dermatopathy, which is usually caused by a reaction to something in the body that leads to widespread inflammation. In Dollie’s case, it was quite severe, and she is a lucky cat to have found her way to us,” says MSPCA-Angell.

Although one of Dollie’s ears and a tail had to be amputated, the team of specialists was able to work quickly enough to save two of Dollie’s legs that were in danger.

Dollie was also diagnosed with a case of ringworm. The lime drip used to treat the ringworm is the reason why she currently has a yellow hue in her fur.

“We expect she’ll live a long, happy life, something that would not have been possible without extensive teamwork between the hospitals and the clinic,” said MSPCA.

Although MSPCA says they’ll never know what caused Dollie’s infection, they don’t believe she will need any special medical care going forward.

Just a family willing to welcome a new, unique member.

Those interested in adopting Dollie may submit an inquiry at mspca.org/dollie.

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