Felicia's story:Originally Posted by Killearn Kitties
Felicia was born with deformed front legs. She was rejected by her birth momma and brought to the shelter. The shelter had another nursing momma cat who accepted Felicia without hesitation. Nan, the adoptive mother, did an amazing job with Felicia and 'Licia never noticed that she wasn't a perfectly normal kitten. She came here at 7 weeks, my last kitten! Nan was adopted and has a great home. Instead of paying an adoption fee for Felicia, I paid to have her birth momma cat spayed so that there would be no more kittens, healthy or handicapped.
Felicia's left front leg is fused at a 90 degree angle. She has no elbow joint. All the bones are there, but they missed while she was developing in utero. Her right wrist joint isn't normal either, but it's functional. When she was small, she could use the left leg to walk on, but as she grew, it no longer touches the floor. She does use it for batting toys around and bopping the big cats! When she was a kitten, my vet was concerned that she would have other developmental and health problems, but she appears to be perfectly healthy.
Mother Nature compensated nicely for Felicia's front leg problems. She has very powerful back legs, with extra toes. She can jump with no problem to just about any height. She stayed very small so there is no extra weight on her joints. She has an extra long tail, that combined with the snowshoe back feet, enhances her balance. She can sit upright for hours! She runs and plays. She even helps Boots hunt in the enclosure. At some point, the affected leg might have to be removed, but for now, it causes her no pain and she still has some function in it so I've refused any surgery.
She's not a lap cat, but she likes to sneak in close for attention. She has the most amazing coat, like petting velvet. She adores Glacier and Boots especially, but she gets along with everyone. We call her the Mini-Mite--she's tiny, but she's mighty!
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