Sarge is a brave soldier. She has movement challenges because she was born with cerebellar hypoplasia. Her motor abilities, coordination, and balance have all been impaired by this unusual cerebellar developmental defect in utero.
Her condition is so terrible that the little girl is unable to walk. Sarge, on the other hand, manages to get around.
This lovable social butterfly gets to experience the world from the safety and comfort of her clear backpack, thanks to cat hero Michelle Donlick.
Sarge makes a lot of friends wherever she goes. Sarge and Michelle will be able to tell everyone about the wonder of the Avalo Cat Sanctuary every time they meet someone, which is a fantastic thing!
Michelle committed part of her 16-acre horse farm to care for small exotic, domestic hybrid, and domestic cats, and the Avalo Cat Sanctuary, based in Wagner, South Carolina, opened its doors to felines in need. Sarge, along with 350 other cats, deems this area his home.
Sarge, short for Sargenta, is one of the sanctuary’s many special needs cats. He came to Avalo as a kitten only a few months old.
“It occurs most usually when a pregnant cat becomes infected with feline panleukopenia, virus, and it spreads to her unborn kittens,” noted Dr. Cristina Walsh of Neffsville Veterinary Clinic in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
“Trauma to the unborn kittens, starvation during pregnancy, or other inflammatory disorders contracted by the mother can also cause it.”
The symptoms of CH, whatever the origin, aren’t usually obvious at birth, but “once they start to mature, then you can see how they operate,” Michelle told The Augusta Chronicle.
Some kittens simply have a tiny wobble in their gate, while others, like Sarge, are completely unable to walk.
“She can’t walk at all,” Michelle told People. “She lies on her side and flips anywhere she wants to go, but she’s not in any discomfort.”
Sarge hasn’t allowed CH to stop her from living her life, even though she needs assistance getting around.
Michelle tried to come up with the best approach to “tour her around” so that she could roam freely. That’s when she came across Sarge’s vehicle.
“I was looking for a way to show her around, and I came across this backpack on Amazon that was simply the cutest thing with breathing holes.”
“People were really happy to see us and meet her,” Michelle said of her visits to the Charleston Market, Shem Creek restaurants, and Sullivan’s Island beaches.
“In the backpack, she merely seems amused.” She sits there swaying back and forth and moving around a lot so she can look out the window and see everyone,” Michelle explained. “She enjoys being the center of attention. She’s a lovely young lady.”
Sarge isn’t the only Avalo cat who yearns for adventure. Her two special needs feline buddies are waiting for their backpacks to arrive so they may go out frolicking as well.
Akimbo, a Bengal cat, was paralyzed in a fall, and Rita, a tortie, lost a leg in a vehicle accident, but they, like Sarge, want to see everything.
“Those guys enjoy hanging out with Sarge, so the idea is to get to the point where we can put them all in backpacks and take them all sightseeing together.”
