Rescuers in coastal Oregon shared the story of Mouse, a tiny kitten who always stayed in high spirits and made a full recovery, despite a horrendous foot injury.
One fateful night, the friendly tabby kittens right front paw became caught in a rat trap. It happened overnight, so it was lucky someone found her so quickly! Unfortunately, cats and kittens frequently get caught in these sorts of traps with tragic results. But thank goodness for Mouse, Oregon Coast Small Animal Rescue, got to her in time.
Mouse the kitten. Images and media via Instagram/ the_hawthorne_witches_teas and ocsa.rescue
Warning: Before images may be mildly disturbing for some viewers.
Rescue Witches ‘Fly’ to the Rescue!
Someone found Mouse stuck in the rat trap in the middle of the night in Toledo, Oregon. Freed from the trap, she needed immediate, costly veterinary care. Enter The Hawthorne Witches Teas, an Oregon group that uses tea bags full of magic, light, and TNR (trap, neuter, release) skills to help cats and kittens along the coastline.
The rescuer/witches swooped in to carry Mouse to the vet to care for her badly mangled paw. Fortunately, she was otherwise in stable condition and incredibly friendly despite all the pain.
As we see daily, kittens can be miraculously resilient and yet so incredibly fragile at the same time.
“What’s puzzling is why she’s so friendly. She should be a very spicy kitten, so that suggests someone was feeding her. We are keeping an eye out for other kittens,” the rescuers shared.
To help Mouse recover, she needed to stay in a soft environment to avoid further injury. To stave off infection, she needed daily rounds of oral antibiotics. As they did all they could to save her foot, it began to have an odor, requiring a medicated dip three times daily. If the foot failed to recover, surgical amputation was the only option.
All of this was due to one dangerously accessible rat trap.
Mouse Stayed in High Spirits
It was a case of “hurry up and wait” as they waited to see if Mouse’s paw could be saved. The rescuers doted on her and gave her all she needed, thanks to generous supporters. Throughout the ordeal, the tabby stayed in high spirits, which is ameowzing!
Would Mouse Became a Tripod?
As Mouse recovered, she started having more pain in her broken paw. Initially, it seemed a good sign because it meant there was feeling there, and it might heal, after all. But then, the vet determined her foot was, unfortunately, beyond saving. Amputation was the only answer to save the kitten even after all they did to avoid it.
An Ameowzing Recovery and a New Life
Several months later, Mouse had fully recovered from her surgery. Instead of removing her entire leg as had been feared, they removed only the infected parts of her paw. As she had all along, the kitten rebounded quickly. Daily physical therapy helped her regain her balance and learn to balance with her partial paw.
Mouse playing after recovery (see video below)
Unless you look closely, you would never know she was different at all! Now, she’s beginning a new life thanks to so many kind people who believed saving her life mattered.
These very kind, good witches say they wish people wouldn’t use rat traps at all. Instead, live traps catch rats just as well for relocation, without the hazards posed to kittens and cats.
