Meet Lobstah! The cat was born with a special paw, and accepts it as perfection!
“He was born with a deformed right front paw, and a crooked tail. Not readily apparent, he was also born without a sternum or pericardial sac, the protective fluid-filled sac surrounding the heart,” John said.
Lobstah was taken in by San Francisco Animal Care and Control. They discovered he was in distress, when they observed he’d stopped eating and drinking. He was also having trouble with his litterbox and was having difficulty breathing.
It was so serious, that when the SFSPCA found the kitten, he was close to dying.
The search began for a specialist that could help out. A team of doctors came together to give the kitten life saving surgery. They closed up the hole in his diaphragm, and “built” a chest wall as best as the could, along with several other procedures.
They didn’t expect the cat to survive such an intricate surgery, but he got through it with flying colors.
“Within 24 hours he was eating, and after a week of continued improvement and around the clock care, though still with his Elizabethan collar, aka cone of shame, and sutures from his upper chest to lower abdomen, the SFSPCA put him up for adoption,” John told Love Meow.
“One hour later, we walked through the door.”
John and Leda already had a (then 9 years old) cat named DJ Lady Bunny, and in August 0f 2014, they said goodbye to their beloved rescue cat, Velveteen. “We were crushed by the loss, and in February of 2015, after going through a jewelry box, Leda found some of Velveteen’s fur that she had saved from regular brushings,” John said.
One day, to their surprise, they saw that Lady Bunny had found the fur later and had started to carry it around in her mouth. “We took that as a sign that she was ready for another companion.”
“The SFSPCA has a couple of kitten windows to the right in the main lobby, and we couldn’t help but notice this little guy wearing the cone of shame, and with a deformed right front paw.
“His name caught our attention too: Lobstah.”
The couple met a few cats that they’d seen on their website. After a few quick visits with no match, they asked a worker if they could see Lobstah.
“He ran off to Lobstah’s room and returned with Pam Floquet, another volunteer who had spent nearly the entirety of her time the previous week, sitting with and monitoring Lobstah. As it turns out, we needed to be vetted. Lobstah was considered a special needs cat, and the SPCA would not let just anyone walk out with him,” said John
After telling the shelter staff about their experience with Velveteen (who required non stop care for the last three years), they accompanied the couple into his room.
“Leda broke down in tears as soon as she saw him. He was tiny and adorable, as we had seen through the window, but his chest and belly were one long suture. He appeared to potentially be very fragile,” said John
“As Lobstah made muffin after muffin, Pam and Charlene told us about his medical history and the surgery. We only spent about fifteen minutes visiting with him, but he made quite an impression.”
John decided it was time to take a break from work, and he went back to the shelter. After seeing Lobstah again, he couldn’t get him off his mind.
“Finally, Leda’s client, with foils in her hair during a color application, said, ‘Just go get him.’
“So I did.”
No one expected this little guy to survive the way he has. But his will to live was so strong that he conquered many obstacles.
Now, he is happy in his forever home, loving his humans, and truly couldn’t be happier.
Just another example that rescuing cats is rewarding in more than ways than one. Share with friends!
Kitty Born With Lobster-Like Paw, Fights His Way To A Loving Home
