Meet Midnight: The Three-Pawed Kitten Who Needs Your Help
As many of you know, the Cat Connection has a long history of working with local Dallas-Fort Worth animal shelters to foster cats in need of homes. It’s a wonderful arrangement: the cats get a break from the shelter and are exposed to many potential adopters; the shelter gets a brief reprieve from the cost of caring for the cats, as the Cat Connection provides food, litter and toys; and premium space is freed up at the shelter for the never-ending influx of felines in need of homes. Recently, we’ve been able to foster a dozen or so kittens from Farmers Branch Animal Adoption Center, many of whom have already found their forever homes!
But while all of our adoptable kittens are special, we currently have one very special guy in need of extra help from the community. Meet Midnight, the Three-Pawed Kitten:
Midnight’s story
Midnight was found by Farmers Branch Animal Services in the beginning of October. The kitten was pretty fast, so fast that no one would know he has only three paws! But once he was caught, it was clear this little guy was special. We’ll never know his full story, but when Midnight was first examined at the shelter, he was underweight, shy and very wary of people. For his first 9 weeks of life, no human seems to have cared for the little guy, and he had to compete for food and resources with other, more able cats. Poor Midnight!
In late October, Cat Connection owner Errin visited to the shelter to pull as many kittens as possible for foster care at the shop. The shelter was overrun with kitties and in desperate need of support from the community. While most of the kittens did their kitten thing – climbing, mewing, playing and cuddling, one little kitten sat quietly all alone, just looking out the window.
Once Errin saw the little guy, she knew he couldn’t stay at the shelter. Not only are black cats less likely to be adopted, but shy and quiet cats are also overlooked. When the shelter revealed that the kitten was also missing a paw, there was no question: Midnight was coming to the Cat Connection!
The Specialness of Midnight
At first, why exactly Midnight was missing a paw in the first place was a mystery. After careful examination by Dr. Douglass Stramel at Advanced Care Veterinary Services, it was determined that Midnight’s missing paw was likely due to a birth defect, which was a huge relief that no one had done this to the kitten intentionally! Unfortunately, the birth defect caused Midnight’s right back leg to stop growing, leaving a stump that the kitten continues to slip and stumble on as he walks.
To make matters a bit more complicated, Midnight requires intensive socialization and love to make up for the rough start of his life. You can tell that he wants so desperately to be loved and to play with other kittens, but his missing paw has made him wary, scared and unsure of himself. But the staff at the Cat Connection has dedicated themselves to bringing Midnight out of his shell and showing him that it’s OK to trust people.
A major breakthrough occurred very recently when Midnight, for literally the first time ever, asked for pets and began to purr! Fortunately, we got this special moment on video!
It’s so heartbreaking to think of that this little guy wants love, but is still too timid to let himself be loved. But he’s making progress, and we’re hopeful he’ll be a purr and cuddle machine soon!
Midnight’s New Paw
After extensive consideration and discussion, it has been decided that Midnight requires a slipper prosthetic produced by OrthoPets, a Colorado-based developer of animal prosthetics.
Midnight is a prime candidate for the slipper because:
- He is young and will likely adjust to the prosthetic with no problem
- To do nothing would result in an atrophied limb and adverse effects to his musculoskeletal system as he begins to mature
- To completely amputate the limb would be just as expensive and is an invasive surgery fraught with significant risk to such a tiny kitten
Under the care and supervision of Dr. Stramel, Midnight has already begun his journey to receiving his first prosthetic slipper:
Please, Midnight Needs Your Help
The Cat Connection and Farmers Branch Animal Services are dedicated to helping Midnight heal both physically and emotionally, but we cannot do it alone. Midnight needs the support of the DFW cat community to help him heal. Would you please help?
Each prosthetic will cost approximately $605 – $660. Because Midnight seems like he’ll be a large cat, we anticipate he will need approximately 5 prosthetics as he matures, bringing the total cost to $3,100.
Once Midnight is using his prosthetic, is socialized to people, and is far enough along in his therapy, we will begin looking for a forever home. As you can imagine, a special cat like Midnight will require an equally special home, one that will be able to manage his prosthetic needs for life.
But with help from the community, we know that Midnight can heal, find his new home and have a loving, healthy life. So please:
This holiday season, help give Midnight the chance to run and play with other kittens. Help give him the chance to build his confidence and find a loving human family to care for him. Please, help Midnight be the best cat he can be. Together, we can give the gift of four paws to Midnight this holiday.
We cannot do this alone. Would you please help?
Ways to Help Midnight
Any amount you can give will help cover the cost of Midnight’s prosthetics. If you have it in your heart to help this little kitten, please contribute in any of the following ways:
- Midnight’s GoFundMe Campaign. Simply click the link and make a donation to this little guy’s care!
- The Cat Connection directly. Please simply call the store at (972) 386-6369 to make a donation by credit card or send a check payable to “Advanced Care Veterinary Services” (in the memo please write “Midnight”) to The Cat Connection / 14233 Inwood Road / Dallas, TX 75244.
- Advanced Care Veterinary Services directly. You may make a donation directly to the veterinarian group overseeing Midnight’s care by calling (214) 488-8500 and letting them know this is for Midnight’s care.