The sweet kitten, named Watson, was born with radial hypoplasia, a congenital condition that results in limb malformations, which causes his front legs to curve inward.
Watson, a two-year-old, was left unable to walk and terribly scarred as his paws continued to twist due to the stress on his joints. Thankfully, Melanie Lusnak, 28, who refused to allow Watson to continue to suffer, saved and adopted Watson.
Watson was constantly informed he had no chance of recovery, but Melanie refused to give up on him and eventually discovered an animal prostitute who was prepared to help. Watson can now play and move about with the other animals’ thanks to prostheses that resemble boots.
“The moment I laid eyes on Watson, it was love at first sight. His paws were so horribly mangled that I knew I had to assist him. I took him to an orthopedic specialist, who informed me that there was nothing anyone could do for him. We were advised to keep him as comfortable as possible because he might not live a long life.”
“But I didn’t want to hear that because I knew there had to be someone who could help him because there was so much information available.”
“Thank goodness, we came across Animal Ortho Care, who gave us a set of prosthetics.”
“The rescue shelter informed me that there are breeders that create ‘twisty cats,’ and that these breeders exploit animals with small defects to produce kittens with a cute appearance.”
It’s terrible; we can’t say for sure whether Watson experienced this, but it surely could have. Many shelters would consider Watson’s condition incurable, and many cats like him would never survive in the wild.
Watson was fortunately taken to Almost Home Animal Rescue League, whose guiding principle is to give every animal a chance, regardless of its situation.
Derrick helped Melanie progressively increase the padding on Watson’s joints to elevate him up because he had always leaned downward. Watson quickly adjusted to his new paws.
“I now take him to an animal chiropractor, initially once or twice a week, but now it’s simply once every two weeks to evaluate his improvement,” Melanie said.
Watson is a very loving and content cat despite everything he has been through; he cuddles with me and sleeps next to me at night.
“I’ve even launched a blog, handi-cat.com, to reassure others that there is hope,” I said. “It’s very essential for people to know that there are solutions out there for all animals.”
