ᴋɪᴛᴛᴇɴ With Bent Paws Learns To Walk
About a month ago, a ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇᴅ ᴛᴀʙʙʏ cat gave birth to a litter of five while she was at a sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ in California. One of her ᴋɪᴛᴛᴇɴs, Dove, was born with front paws that were ʙᴇɴᴛ ɪɴᴡᴀʀᴅs.
They were transported to Oregon Friends Of Sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ Animals where a foster family was awaiting them. “Momma Calliope and her ᴋɪᴛᴛᴇɴs were flown over to Oregon and they came to my home,” Angela, Foster Mom said
“Dove was the tiniest ᴋɪᴛᴛᴇɴ out of the five and her ᴛᴡɪsᴛᴇᴅ ʟᴇɢs ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ɪᴛ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇFᴇɴᴅ herself from her siblings when she was nursing.”
Angela got right to work and made sure that Dove had plenty of one-on-one time with the cat mom when her siblings were asleep. She needed undisturbed nursing time as she had a lot of growing to do.
With the new feeding ᴀʀʀᴀɴɢᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ, Dove began to put on weight every day.
While the ᴛᴀʙʙʏ girl was making steady gains, she was also given ᴘʜʏsɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛʜᴇʀᴀᴘʏ ᴀɴᴅ sᴛʀᴇᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ exercises to help improve her mobility. “I would apply heat and gently massage and stretch her front legs,” Angela shared with Love Meow.
“Dove is super sweet and affectionate. She would sometimes curl up and fall asleep in my hands after a stretching session.”
The ᴋɪᴛᴛᴇɴ is ᴜɴᴀᴘᴏʟᴏɢᴇᴛɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ᴅᴇᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴᴇᴅ to do everything just like her siblings. As soon as her litter ᴍᴀᴛᴇs ʙᴇɢᴀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇ out of the nest, she insisted on following suit. Despite being a bit slower on her feet, nothing could stop her.
She would inch forward using her front paws and just keep going while Momma Calliope egged her on with her adorable coos and chirps.
“Mom is a very talkative cat. Sometimes, she even gives little meows of encouragement as Dove learns to walk, She is super protective and caring, and will cry if she is separated from her ᴋɪᴛᴛᴇɴs. She will even stop mid-meal to check on them if they call for her. She always makes sure her ᴋɪᴛᴛᴇɴs are clean, happy and fed.” Angela said
With regular physical ᴛʜᴇʀᴀᴘʏ and plenty of TLC, Dove’s front legs appear to be straighter and her range of motion has improved greatly.
“She is now able to walk, run and play just like any other ᴋɪᴛᴛᴇɴ, and she isn’t in ᴘᴀɪɴ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ. She may always look a little different and that’s totally okay! She’s a happy girl and enjoys life to the fullest,It took Dove a little longer to learn how to walk than her siblings, but as she practiced more, her muscles got stronger. She absolutely loves playing and chasing after toys.” Angela said
Calliope puts her arms around her ᴋɪᴛᴛᴇɴ and gives her a thorough bath after a good exercise.
