In mid-March this year, Helen Woodward Animal Center’s typical intake process was interrupted by an emergency. One of the kittens had arrived from our rescue partner in Long Beach with what looked to be dislocated rear legs.
“When you held him, [his legs] just flopped around like noodles,” Adoptions Director Kendall Schulz said.
The Center’s Medical Team were concerned the two-and-a-half week old kitten, named Chocolate, had severely atrophied legs. They worried that the lack of development in his legs would prevent him from having normal mobility for a feline. They worried they might have to amputate.
The first few days Chocolate was in our care did little to alleviate the anxieties of our medical team. Whereas his siblings started to walk on all four legs, Chocolate crawled. His front legs would drag him places his rear legs could only flail to. As always in special cases like this, we called upon our extensive Foster network to take care of Chocolate in a low stress environment.
In the relaxed environment of foster care, Chocolate began to feel more comfortable using his rear legs. At first, they still bowed out a little. But over time, Chocolate built the strength and confidence to be able to keep up with all of his siblings. After a little over a month, he was running around like a healthy kitty cat!
By the time June rolled around, the Medical Team felt Chocolate had grown enough to look for his forever home. The search didn’t take long, Chocolate was adopted the day after he became available.
