I had been volunteering in the kitten nursery at the Toronto Humane Society for four years when I first saw Gizmo. I adored her immediately. Every time I looked at her, my heart clenched gently. Her chart indicated she had been surrendered by a person who had found her and her three siblings (all a few weeks old) alone in their backyard. Over the next four days, all of her siblings had died due to URI.
I went in for my next shift a week later and found Gizmo dragging herself around with her front paws. X-rays showed an injury to one of her rear legs as well as compressed vertebrae up near the base of her neck. The vet techs suspected that a volunteer had dropped her.
I knew my mom would NEVER agree to adopt a paralyzed kitten who peed and pooped everywhere. But I was completely in love with Gizmo and was determined to do everything I could to help her heal and take her home with me.
Over the next month, I went to the THS every other day and did physiotherapy exercises with Gizmo that a vet had suggested might help. Within a month, Gizmo became fully functional again and I immediately took her home. She can walk, run, jump and play, but she'll never be as able-bodied as a regular cat.
The most hilarious part is that she turned out to be a foul tempered animal that had a tendency to be alternatingly aloof and vicious as a kitten. I'm covered with scars from her first 6 months with me! Thankfully she's mellowed a bit now that she's a year old. But it doesn't matter anyway; she can do whatever she wants. Every time I look at her, I still feel my heart clench.
Toronto, Canada
