Chase No Face - Representing Special Needs Cats Worldwide

On February 2nd I had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Smith, the wonderful owner of Internet cat celebrity Chase No Face!

At the young age of four months, Chase the cat was run over by a car and taken to the Chevy Chase Animal Clinic in Kentucky, where the expert team of veterinarians working there saved her life. While taking care of Chase at the clinic, Melissa grew very fond of her and took her home at night to keep her company. These nightly cat hangouts would eventually develop a strong bond between the two and Chase soon became a permanent resident at Melissa's house.

Chase No Face has been living for almost nine years without any eyelids, nose, upper lip, and one of her hind legs. She is a very happy and healthy cat who has been under the care of several veterinarians who agree! Chase is able to lead a happy and normal cat life with the help of Melissa, who moistens Chase's eyes and nose daily.

Chase is a special needs cat and very special indeed. She loves other people and animals and licks everyone she meets. Chase is the poster child for special needs pets because of her perseverance and positive outlook on life. No challenge is too big for Chase, who still jumps and climbs on furniture despite having lost one of her back legs in the accident.

Special needs pets may require extra attention and money to pay for their medical bills, but they are just as loving and as sweet as typical pets. Special needs animals are rarely chosen as pets and are often left to perish. This also happens to older cats and dogs at the SPCA and other animal shelters as well. If kept there for too long, animals are at risk of being euthanized due to pet overpopulation, or to prevent the spread of disease amongst animals.

I adopted my very own special needs cat about three years ago. She's a short-haired grey cat named "Pumpkin", very accident prone, and often needs comforting. She is also very silly and loving, and plays with anyone who approaches her.

Unfortunately, her first owners were extremely abusive and burned cigarettes on her body. She was eventually brought to the SPCA but still carries the trauma from the incident today. Pumpkin will sometimes have panic attacks and attempt to chew off pieces of her own tail in an attempt at self-harm. She also has no concept of danger, therefore I must be very careful of what she's doing at all times.

Pumpkin on Christmas Day

Montreal has a large stray animal population, and many of these potential pets are perishing in the cold winter weather. They are in dire need of meals and medical treatment, but will mostly likely never receive them.

A stray cat hanging out in my garden

One cat who would often visit my home for cat food was a big black cat we named "Chip". We named him Chip because he had square ears, which we later learned was because the tips of his ears had been lost to frostbite. We made sure to neuter him.

Another cat I remember fondly of is "Dirty", an orange cat whose belly was bloated and nearly bursting. He came to our house with a huge, puss-filled gash on his forehead and was in need of immediate medical attention. After taking him to the emergency veterinary clinic and having his wound treated, the veterinarians explained that stomach bloating is a very common occurrence in stray cats. Apparently, when they have no one to feed them, they will eat excessive amounts of any food they can find! That is because they have no idea if they will ever eat again. We also had him neutered and made sure to feed him properly!

Recently, Dirty came over to our house with a collar on after being missing for months. I am very pleased that he found himself a loving family to live with!

Sadly, not all stray animals find owners. We need to help shrink the pet population to help overwhelmed animal shelters as well as the animals themselves! In the words of Bob Barker: "Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered!"

Click HERE to check out Patricia's interview with Chase No Face's owner Melissa Smith, and for those who would like to donate to Chase and help with her medical bills, information is available on the Chase No Face blog.

--Patricia Petit-Liang co-hosts FunkShui every Sunday at 2 PM EST on CJLO 1690 AM