Tippy-canoe Cat

Carol and I went to have dinner and a movie last Sunday with our friends Pete, Kellie, their daughter Sara and three cats C.A.T., Goober and Petty Lou (seen at left). I had never met their new cats but was surprised to see Petty Lou walking around exactly like you see her, with her head tilted to the right at an extreme angle just like in the photo. When Pete and Kellie got Petty from the animal shelter with her two other sisters they ask why she looked that way. Apparently Petty Lou (now called Tippecanoe Cat and Tippi Hedrin by Carol and I) had an inner ear infection when she was very young that left scar tissue inside her ear canal thus throwing her balance off and requiring her to cock her head to the side to get around comfortably. The veterinarian says the cat is in no pain and that there are no other ill effects from the tilted head. There is, however, an expensive operation that may or may not fix Petty’s cosmetically hilarious problem, but they have chosen not to put her through the trauma of surgery.