Our newest foster kittens...one was hit by a car.

We have two new foster kittens:

Gracie, is 3 months old, weighs a little over 2 pounds and is a little shy.  She is black with a little white patch on her chest.  She was in another foster home with her sister but we decided to separate them because they were not making progress.  They were both trapped outside with their two brothers.  (There is a 4 in the litter, 1 black male, 1 black female, 1 grey male, 1 grey female)  Because they are a little feral, we need to tame them so they can be adopted.  Sometimes when litter mates are together, they do not bond with humans as well as they do when they are alone.  The other two of the litter are doing well together but Gracie and her sister were not.  So, we separated them.  All 4 of them are available for adoption.



Karma is 6 months old and weighs 4 pounds 3 ounces.  She is slightly emaciated.  She was hit by a car two weeks ago and a woman who has been feeding her decided to call our shelter to get her help.

I am not sure why this woman waited 2 weeks to get Karma medical attention but we have her now and she is getting the help she needs.  She went to the vet yesterday and today.  Yesterday, she had x-rays taken and was given a powerful painkiller.

Today, she was examined and another vet looked at her x-rays to determine what surgeries she needs.  She has 3 fractures in her pelvis, one through her hip socket and one in her femur.

She is scheduled to have surgery on her femur on Tuesday.  Surprisingly, she is able to walk.  I am not sure how she can physically stand but she gets around fairly well.  She is confined to a cage to prevent her from running and jumping which may cause her more damage.  I do let her out periodically because she likes laying next to me and getting some pets behind the ears.  When she is out, I have to constantly supervise her to make sure none of the other kittens try to play with her, which could hurt her.

After she heals from this first surgery, she will have another surgery to fix her pelvis and hip.

As you can see in the picture to the right, sometimes, she doesn't want to use her legs.  Here she is eating some wet food. She does not appear to be in any pain because she is on pain medication.  I am watching her very closely for any changes.

She is such a sweet, loving kitty.  I am surprised that even in her condition, she is so loving. She wants to lay next to us and purr.  She is such a sweet girl.

After she heals from all of her surgeries, she will be available for adoption.

Can a three-legged cat live a normal life?

Because of their small body weight, cats do very well after the loss of a leg. Their human friends often take longer to adjust to the change than they do. It might help, however, to make the cat an exclusively indoor cat. It's reflexes and ability to avoid predators may be a bit hampered. Another helpful move might be to provide a few stools where the cat chooses to get up and down from things, such as beds or a favorite window sill.

If a front leg has been removed, jumping down can be painful if one leg has to catch the fall from three or more feet up. If a rear leg is missing, it may be difficult to provide the torque to jump up onto high things without a stool halfway.

Even with a leg removed, three legged cats can play, run and pounce just like any other cat.

I have fostered a three legged cat before and here is what I learned first hand. Drake, the three legged cat, needed a larger litter box and he needed it in more stable location, such as a corner. He also needed more support for getting off and on high cat trees and other things. He seemed to be fine, but I worried because he sometimes hit his chin on the floor from the impact of landing on one leg.