Ouch

Whomever coined the phrase "look before you leap" had me in mind, I swear. When animals and children are involved, I tend to leap and then look around confused when things aren't as I expected. I was contacted by a previous HART adopter about some kittens living under a shed in December 2010. I didn't think to ask questions like "how old are they?" or "are they feral?" or "honey, can I take in three new fosters?" I leapt and then looked back and said "Oh. Whoops."

The kittehs came with names: Garfield, Morris and Shadoe (my spelling to differentiate her from the millyun other "Shadows" out there). Garfield, straight outta the box is a dude. Just a dude. He'll hang with you, he'll clean your hair, he'll play with you or he'll do his own thang. He don't care. Morris has always wanted to be friendly but stopped short EVERY single time. Shadoe is just feral. She don't need you, she don't like you, she ain't gonna like you, she don't need nuthin', thank you very much. Now where's her food?? None of that really matters to me because for the most part, once you're one of my fosters, you'll always have a home. Unless you're on notice like Havoc and Mayhem, but I digress.

The beeyootiful picture you see on the top right is a picture of Morris' hips and pelvis. With or without a veterinary degree (and I'm not a vet, I just play one on television) it's pretty clear to see that his left hip ain't quite right. When he went in to have a couple of appendages removed (don't worry, it was just his testicles), I asked the vet to check out his hips. I was concerned that he had neuropathy which would cause a weakness that would never go away. Ever. What I wasn't prepared for was a diagnosis that would cause my heart to stumble. At some point, before he was found living under a shed with his siblings, Morris had both hips and his pelvis broken. His pelvis has healed, though it is wonky, and one of his hips has healed, though it also healed wonky. His left hip is still broken and hurts him every time he walks. He's been living like that before December. At a minimum, he's been in constant pain for at least three months!! And yet he continues to walk, he continues to eat and he loves to antagonize the other cats! Such an indominable spirit to go that long in constant pain.

The vets say he will need a surgery on both his hips to fix the broken hip and to heal the other hip properly. The total cost will be approximately $3000, including aftercare. If you have been looking for a worthwhile cause to donate to, look no further than his guy. His chances of being adopted and being a sweet and loving cat to a wonderful family will significantly increase with this surgery, not to mention his overall quality of life. Can you help me, and HART, give him the normal life he needs??