Gracie the handcapped kitten
Gracie's story starts off sad but doesn't end up that way.
Gracie was three weeks old when someone stepped on her, breaking her back. The accident left the tiny kitten unable to use her back legs. Her owner didn't take her to a vet for another few weeks, when it was too late to do anything.
When Gracie was only six weeks old, her owner stood on a sidewalk in Missoula on a Saturday morning, offering Gracie and her littermates as "free kittens" to people walking by. The kittens were in a box, nursing from their mother.
A young woman stopped to look. The owner quickly pulled Gracie off the momma cat and gave the tiny kitten to the woman. She noticed the kitten's back legs didn't seem right. "Not to worry," the owner said, handing over an empty bottle of prednisone. "Just get the kitten some more of these pills and she'll be walking in no time at all."
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The young woman carried Gracie off, wondering what was wrong with the kitten's legs. A few minutes later she happened to run into a chiropractor who also does animal adjustments. She asked the chiropractor to examine the kitten. The chiropractor determined that it was unlikely Gracie would ever be able to walk.
Upset at the news, the young woman pulled out the empty bottle of pills and noticed a veterinarian's name on the label. She called the vet, who told her that yes, he remembered the case. He said he had told the owner that there was only a one percent chance the kitten would walk again.
Now distraught, the young woman told the chiropractor that she couldn't keep an invalid kitten but didn't know what to do. She certainly didn't want to take Gracie back to the owner, who would simply hand her out to the next passer-by who showed any interest. The chiropractor told her to call us.
By Saturday evening, Gracie had arrived at the ranch. This tiny feline paraplegic had started the day in a box on a sidewalk, worth nothing as far as her owner was concerned. She ended the day at the sanctuary, where animals with disabilities are treasured.
Our vets at Montana Veterinary Specialists in Helena gave her a thorough exam and X-rayed her spine to see if there was anything we could do to restore her ability to walk. There wasn't. But the good news is that she should live a long and otherwise healthy life.
This little girl has no idea she's handicapped. She can jump in the air even though her back legs don't work at all. She scoots around the floor like a waterbug, darting from here to there. Gracie can climb a cat tree using just her front legs — she shoots up one side and down the other.
She loves to wrestle with us, and relishes pinning our hands to the ground with her front paws and tiny teeth.
Gracie is growing like a weed, and she continues to amaze us with her speed and zany antics. In fact, we call her "gymnasti-cat" because of her agility and athletic prowess.
