Kanga

Kanga is my cat that lives at the veterinarian clinic that I work at. I originally had her at home with me but because of my dogs she had to be confined to the spare bedroom. She now is happy in the cat room of the boarding kennel that I manage. She has a few other house cats to snuggle with and keep her company.

Originally Kanga was rushed into the clinic several years ago with her previous owner in a horrified panic. The woman lived on a farm and apparently Kanga had been run over by some type of farm vehicle. One of her front legs was completely severed and the other one just dangling. She also had a deep cut where her lower leg joined to her body. The woman wanted our vet to do whatever he could to save her. Unfortunately she ended up loosing both front legs. I remember her right after surgery, I reached in to touch her and she started to loudly purr. After extensive hospitalized care she was finally able to be released. Unfortunately the woman planned to put her back out in the barn. Since I was the one who had been caring for her (and because I was so attached to her and loved her) I asked if I could adopted her and the woman was relieved and said yes.

I renamed her Kanga because she walks around up like a kangaroo. Sometimes she dips forward and uses her little stubs for balance. She is able to step into the litterbox and even uses them to cover her "business". She loves to be held and combed and purrs all the time. When she lived at home with me sometimes she would go up to the little dogs and rub her face against theirs. I found her many times sleeping with my old shih-tzu but sometimes the other dogs were just too rowdy for her, so I brought her to work with me. At the clinic everyone stops in all the time to play with her. She'll try to grab toys with her mouth if they are dangled in front of her and she shake them and throw them around and pick them up with her mouth and do it all over again. Some people at first worry about her "quality" of life, but if I open a can of cat food they are amazed how quickly she is up and on the move to get her share. Here's a few photos of her smelling the food, on the move to get it and then laying back down and licking her lips in satisfaction. She's an inspiration to me and daily reminds me that there's so much to be happy about!