Daily Photo: Phoenix, a Real Survivor
Lindsay Joyce of Frankie’s Friends cuddles with Phoenix and shows off his plaid “drag bag” which protects his partially-paralyzed legs.
This handsome tuxedo cat may look fairly common, but his experiences are anything but common. In brief, rescued in unbelievably horribly condition, living under someone’s shed while they fed him and said they’d thought him to be too shy to come out, he was actually paralyzed by a 45-caliber gunshot that grazed his spine and a subsequent mauling by a dog. Horribly infected and (grossness warning) to the point where his wounds were crawling with maggots, he was taken from under the shed by one person and passed to one and then to Michelle Miller below, who took him to the Homeless Cat Management Team in Tarentum where he could get immediate medical care.
He survived the experience and is as sweet and affectionate as he appears. He can stand on his hind legs but not walk well and tends to drag his hind legs, hence the bag that helps keep his legs from developing brush burns. He also wears a little kitty diaper for the occasional accidents, also related to his condition. Earlier this year someone donated a cart for him to use for walking. I’ll be writing more about Phoenix in the near future, and he’s also up for adoption.
You an read more about Frankie’s Friends and the house where the cats live on their website and keep up with current events on their Facebook page. Dr. Morrow is also the president of the board of directors for the Homeless Cat Management Team as well as an assistant professor of biology and physiology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
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What an unbelievably horrible ordeal for such a beautiful cat. Well done to everyone who helped to save him. I hope he finds a perfect home very quickly
Long Life, animals amaze me every day–he had lots of compassionate support, and it worked because he’s the one who wanted to live.
Poor baby…I’m glad to hear some of these cats make it…but sometimes the stories are hard to read…
Sued, there are many with no happy endings at all which is why I focus on ones like Phoenix.
I know…bless you and others like you for what you do…I think the sad stories would be too much for me
This shows the importance of rescue groups and why we need to help
homeless kitties.
Big purrs for Phoenix. We hope he is happy in his new life 🙂
Tillie and Georgia, that’s why I’m going to write his complete story, including all the people involved and all that had to be done for him–and why we do this.
Such a sad story of a very resilient kitty x
Carolyn, I don’t expect much, but even with that people shock me sometimes.