Help Pay for Malcolm's Paw Amputation Surgery

Malcolm is an 8 week old kitten who has suffered a traumatic injury to one of his front paws... and as a result it has had to be amputated.

Malcolm came to us on Thursday after he was spotted by a worker in a South Auckland suburb. Unable to stay and render assistance, the worker called his partner, who missioned all the way across Auckland to help... and thankfully she was able to get this poor wee puss into care with one of our vet clinics.

It was immediately obvious that all was not well – his paw was sitting at an awful angle. On Thursday the team were able to get some pain relief into him, get him fed and hydrated and he was seen by the ortho surgeon on Friday morning. An x-ray revealed the extent of the issue – the humerus was broken and displaced, and the nerves damaged extensively. So even if they could reset it, it would be likely that Malcolm would end up dragging the leg around anyway. The better option was amputation.

While this sounds like a terrible thing, most cats do great on three legs – Lonely Miaow has seen many other cats and kittens undergo this procedure, and they've all recovered brilliantly. Because Malcolm is just a wee dot, he will quickly grow accustomed to three-legged life, and it likely won't slow him down at all.

The surgery happened yesterday afternoon, and by last night he was settled in with his foster family – and already up moving around, eating and drinking with ease. This is the beginning of a second chance for this wee lonely miaow – he will remain in care while he recovers, before heading off to a new family to get on with life.

Now we need your help to cover Malcolm's costs. We're right in the middle of kitten season, and our finances are under huge pressure. For kittens like Malcolm, there is no choice to be made – his only chance of a future was surgery, so that's what we did. Now we're asking for your help so we can keep working hard for the stray and abandoned cats and kittens of Auckland!