SPECIAL FEATURES:
Email
Kitten born without leg bones to get life-changing operation
Harvey has no bones that connect the upper half of his front legs to his paws, but he's learned to get around just fine on his elbows.
Tue, Mar 05 2013 at 2:10 PM
Related Topics:
A kitten born without bones in his front legs will have metal pins implanted to help him get around normally and spare him pain later in life.
A good Samaritan saw the weeks-old kitten on Gumtree, a website similar to Craigslist, and brought him to the Glasgow branch of Cats Protection, a feline welfare charity, in January.
Cats Protection named the little white cat Harvey, and took him to a veterinarian, where his X-rays revealed that he was born without ulna and radius bones, a rare condition known as radial agenesis.Harvey was placed with “foster mom” Liz McCulloch who has been impressed by the kitten’s ability to run around and play like any other cat.
"He’s a lovely little thing," McCulloch, told The Sun. “Because Harvey was born that way he doesn’t know there’s anything wrong with him so he runs around on his elbows and happily plays with my other cat and dog."
But although the kitten gets around just fine on his elbows, without surgery to replace his leg bones with pins, he could experience severe pain as he grows and the pressure on his neck and spine increases.
The surgery comes with a hefty price tag of $4,700, so Cats Protection Glasgow set up a fundraising page for Harvey and raised the necessary funds in just a few days.
Harvey can’t have the metal pins implanted in his legs until he’s 6 months old, so for now he’s spending his time with McCulloch, chasing toys and taking cat naps like any other kitten. After he recovers from surgery, he’ll be placed in a forever home.
Check out a video of Harvey below.
More cat stories on MNN:
You might also like:
Sign in with one of these accounts to add your comment.
EDITORS' PICKS
Advertisement
TODAY'S MOST POPULAR ON
- What causes tornadoes?
- Military dog comes home from Iraq traumatized
- 13 natural remedies for the ant invasion
- 15 famous people who mysteriously disappeared
- 9 habits that may do more harm than good
- 10 false facts most people think are true
- New psychiatric manual stirs controversy
- Indian man single-handedly plants a 1,360-acre forest
- How space tourism could help save planet Earth
- 15 houseplants to improve indoor air quality
NEWSLETTER
Advertisement
I am absolutely humbled by you Harvey>>> Thank you Harvey's mum for all your love and support for him... God bless you both richly!!!
Bless his wee heart.... What a sweet cat! He probably would survive without the surgery, but with it he has a better chance at a normal life. God bless the caregivers too!
my honora was born in 2001 with no radius bone in both her front legs too. i took her to an orthopedic surgeon who told me that if she were his cat he wouldn't do the surgery on her, as she looked happy and got around well. she has not had any problems so far, and is, indeed, very happy!!!
Animals are much better at adapting than humans are in my opinion. They are looked at as the "dumb animal" most humans tend to think of them as but as we all clearly see over and over again they are clearly highly intelligent and adapt and overcome. This cat's spirit is indomitable! Go Harvey!
Cats are absolutely amazing. God bless Harvey and the lovely lady who is fostering him.
She's a foster Mom and only has ONE cat of her own?? She IS strong. LOL. I'd love to foster, but I suspect I would be the poster child for foster "failure", so I just donate to cat welfare groups whenever I can.
What a precious baby! I'm so happy he will be getting surgery soon and wish him a speedy recovery and a long, healthy life.
What a PRECIOUS little thing, Bless you Harvey!! Thank-You to the Foster Mom and HOPE your surgery goes well. May you get a "WONDERFUL FOREVER HOME"!!
It's absolutely awesome what medicine can do these days. What I can't figure out is how that foster mom could possibly give Harvey up after all that time living with her. She's a stronger person than I am!
I know I couldn't give him up. Being a Foster Parent is really tough, though. You can't keep everyone. Case in point: My brother is a Foster Parent for Bengal Rescue and he has 19 cats...of his own!
Awwwww…so cute!