True Cat Rescue Stories from the Files of Touched By A Paw, Inc.

It was july 14, 2001 and I had just completed my third cat adoption when a young couple came into the shelter. They appeared to be upset and told me how they had been in a neighboring town and saw a pure white kitten about nine or ten weeks old, crossing the town's Main Street, dragging both of his hind legs. They were forced to slam on their brakes or they would have run him over. They turned their car around and followed him down an alley.

Even though he appeared to have two broken legs, he moved quite fast. They did capture him and place him in a cardboard box. However, while they were using the phone to call the local Humane Society, the kitten escaped. They searched again, but could not find him. Some one told them about Touched By A Paw Cat Rescue and the came in hopes that we could help this kitten.

I left the shelter at 6PM that night and went to the location where the young couple had last seen the kitten. I searched for an hour and saw no white kitten.

That evening, I mentioned the kitten's story to my husband Bill. The next day was Sunday, we took my Mom out to dinner in that same town. After dinner, we took turns pushing Mom up and down the alleys in her wheelchair while we looked for the kitten.

It was a very hot day, and if the kitten was scared and injured, I assumed that he'd only come out after dark. I wondered as I walked the alleys, how he was surviving the heat without water. Then I spotted several air conditioners with good sized drips, and some kind person had put dry cat food near a restaurant' s rear door, apparently to feed stray alley cats. We gave up our search that afternoon. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Monday evening as soon as my husband came home from work, he placed a cat carrier and cat food in his truck. He said that he was going to look for the kitten with the two broken legs. Neither of us could get the kitten out of our minds, thinking of how helpless he was, and how he must be suffering.

Bill returned home at 8 PM. He did not have the kitten, but he was elated that he had seen him under a parked car. The kitten had run under a privacy fence and had disappeared by the time Bill got around the fence. It was truly amazing that Bill had located the kitten, considering all the locations that people had seen him around town.

Tuesday evening, right after work, Bill headed back to the place that he had spotted the kitten. It was getting dark, around 9 PM, when I saw Bill pull up and park his truck. I went outside to see if he had had any luck, and there on the front seat, staring out of the carrier, were two big green eyes on a little white kitten. It was a miracle! I couldn't believe it.

Bill named him Danali. That night we bathed and examined him. His hind legs were stiff and straight, but didn't appear to be broken. On the tops of his feet were raw sores, and bone was exposed from being dragged so long. He did not respond to my dressing his feet. I feared that his legs were paralyzed. The next day I brought him to our vet, Dr. Geiger. My worst fears were realized as X-rays revealed a gun pellet was lodged near his spine. Danali had spinal nerve damage and his rear legs were paralyzed. Someone had shot this helpless kitten with a pellet gun and left him to try to survive on his own. Dr. Geiger's main concern was if Danali could urinate on his own.

We took him home and made him comfortable in a large dog crate on a table, near a window. We began to monitor his urine output through under pads, then preemie diapers with a hole cut for his tail.

That was almost two years ago. Danali will be this May. In these past two years, we have had a lot of hurdles to get over. There have been bladder infections, neutering, and removing the pellet, which had worked it's way up to the surface. Then there was a complete urine blockage, which led to a major surgery and medications. All through it, Danali was a trooper.

Today Danali is doing well and has no health problems. He is a happy, loving, playful and smart cat. He chatters and tries hard to communicate with us. He can climb poles, vault up and down furniture as he wants. His back muscles are so strong that they raise and support his hind legs when he is on the move. When he sits, his hind legs are straight out in front of him like the letter "V". He wears two disposable diapers and requires changes 2-3 times a day. We keep the diaper area shaved so that most of the times he can be cleaned with wet wipes. He has adapted well to the diapers and no longer chews them off as he did during the first few months. For extra insurance, Danali also wears onesies over his diapers, with the sleeves cut off and a hole for the tail. It keeps his white fur clean on the floor and keeps the diaper from sliding off. Danali will lay patiently on his very own changing table while we change him. He knows that the diaper is his "ticket" to be free in the house. Mornings, when he hears me get up, he will call to me. his meow sounds just like the word "Ma". For his safety, he is caged at night and also when we are gone. Sometimes he just sits by the cage and waits to be lifted in. His quality of life is good. He has no idea that he is different from our other cats. His only handicap is his inability to use the litter box. It never occurred to either Bill or myself to do anything else but save him.

The lesson in all of this is how one looks at a situation and handles it. One can see it positively and another negatively. I truly believe that God sent us Danali as a lesson in patience and a commitment to follow through. He also gave my husband the experience of changing diapers, which he almost missed as we had no children together.

If I had one word to describe Danali, it would be "Joy" because he has brought joy into our lives. He is a blessing. TBAP has many special needs cats and kittens for adoption. Give one a home, and give yourself twice the blessing.