A kitten with big bear paws and fearless nature is so happy to run around freely for the first time.
Late last month, a polydactyl kitten with curled ears and a bobtail was brought into Friends for Life Rescue Network, an animal rescue in Los Angeles. She was four weeks old and came with an extremely bent ankle.
“She was born with the bent front leg. Polydactyl cats’ paws are too big in utero and can result in the arm being bent at an abnormal angle when there isn’t enough room,” Jacqueline DeAmor, founder of Friends for Life Rescue Network, told us.
“In her case, she came from a bigger litter so there wasn’t enough room to accommodate her paw size. This caused the tendons to be stuck over constricted.”
The kitten whom they named Indira (Indy), was walking on her forearm with limited mobility. Fortunately, she was very young and her condition could be significantly improved through physical therapy.
“Usually this can be corrected with massaging and stretching as a newborn for the first few weeks of life if noticed early. Four weeks was prime age to splint and correct the leg before her bones calcified and before the tendons became too short to be stretched,” Jacqueline shared with us.
After just one week of leg wraps, Indy was able to land on her four paws and began to walk a lot more steadily. As she built enough strength, she turned into a ball of energy with a lot of sass.
Indy adores people and loves being catered to. Adam and Margaux, foster liaisons of the rescue, syringe-fed the kitten during the day and were completely enamored with the little tabby.
“Every time I sat down to feed her, Indy would jump right into my lap and wait for food. It melted my heart,” the couple shared with us.
“I was also very impressed at how much she adapted to having her leg wrapped — it didn’t slow her down at all! And her leg straightened out so quickly that she only needed wraps for a week.”
Watch Indy and her journey in this cute video:
“Now, she gets 10 minutes of leg massaging and stretching after each meal,” Adam and Margaux told us.
At almost seven weeks old, Indy can stand up completely on her paws and run around just like any other kitten.
“Now that she’s gotten so steady on her feet, you can really see her playful side coming out. She loves to jump around, chase things, and wrestle with toys. Once she’s good and tired, she comes right up for cuddles.”
Indy enjoys scampering around at full speed while trying to pounce on all the resident cats, who are much larger in size. When she is ready to take a break and recharge, she likes to put herself to bed.
“She goes here every time she feels tired,” Jacqueline shared with us.
If she finds a soft blanket, she will go to town and make (knead) the sweetest biscuits while purring up a storm.
Indy is so thrilled to be able to run around without a care in the world. She is brave, playful and adventurous, and enjoys every little thing in life.
