I was touched by this story of a sweet three-legged cat named Stumpy, now called Trin, in the care of C.A.R.E.S. cat shelter in Langley, B.C. Susan Phillips, the society’s newsletter editor, kindly agreed to share it here in this guest blog post. She came on three legs, the fourth being nothing but a “peg” leg that she uses to get around with. Perhaps she was born without that right rear paw, as she moves perfectly without it. A lovely white cat, with green/gold eyes, looking about her with confusion and fear. What on earth was going on? Stumpy was very reluctantly surrendered to the C.A.R.E.S. shelter due to family circumstances. Her previous family loved Stumpy very much, but could not keep her and put forward a heartfelt plea that she, "go to the best possible home that will love and cherish her for the rest of her life." Stumpy was calm and cooperative at first, but seemed sad in the shelter environment. Unfortunately, before long, she contracted an upper respiratory infection (URI), common with cats. Stumpy was monitored closely in the shelter’s hospital area and cared for around the clock, however she grew increasingly withdrawn and lost weight. Although she was overweight to begin with, this dramatic weight loss was concerning. Stumpy made several visits to the veterinarian, and we began force feeding her to keep her strength up. On the right medication, a cat can beat this infection with little difficulty. But Stumpy was in a strange new place, with strange new humans and without much incentive for getting well. She appeared to be losing heart. On November 19, when we shared a video of the sweet kitty purring called “Stumpy’s Song,” we put out a request for a foster family. “Stumpy needs a quiet home without any children or dogs. Having all her amenities in a quiet easy to access space will be important for Stumpy as well.” But her needs increased in the interim. Right before Christmas, Stumpy arrived at her fabulous foster home. Her two fosterers knew right away that this was going to be a challenge and jumped right in with administering medication twice a day, making sure that there was a fresh supply of food and water within reach, plus two litter trays. The hardest part was the force feeding. As you can imagine, no creature wants to have food shoved or injected into their mouth. Not fun! And it wasn’t. In the first few days, Stumpy hadn’t the strength to do anything but drag herself from one spot to another, mostly in an effort to get away from the feeding. A few more days and two baths later and our pretty kitty appeared perkier, could run rather than pull herself and definitely was feistier at feeding time! Her trips to the vet revealed that Stumpy had put on weight—yippee! By now she was nibbling her dry food and drinking on her own. I’m ecstatic to announce that Stumpy (for now, called “Trin,” short for Trinity) is well on her way to a full recovery. She has shown herself to be a friendly girl, who loves to play and has a fondness for treats. And the best news: Stumpy/Trin is now at home for good with her foster parents, who have adopted her. Susan Phillips Editor, Cat Tales C.A.R.E.S. Canadian Animal Rescue & Extended Shelter Above: Stumpy gets cuddles at C.A.R.E.S. in "Stumpy's Song"
Below: Stumpy gets around just fine on 3 legs.
1 Comment
5/7/2023 09:52:10 am
Thank you for shared some good information and story of Stumpys...
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