Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Rescue Story: Simon Says…

three-legged cat
Simon greets me.
cat with three legs
Simon says, “So what were you expecting?”

“What are you looking at?”

Simon lives with the family of Cooper, one of my portrait subjects, who have been rescuing cats for years.

Animals are amazingly adaptive when it comes to changes in their bodies. Simon was a stray being fed outside by this couple who live in a rural area next to a farm as they tried to determine if he belonged to someone. Unfortunately he came back one day dragging a trap on his leg.

“We were actually away at the time,” said Simon’s dad. “Our neighbor found him and ran him to our vet, figuring that’s what we’d want—he was right—but he would have done that for any animal, and we’re so glad he did.”

Simon spent a month in the veterinary hospital while the veterinarian valiantly tried to save the leg, but it just kept breaking again and again.

gray and white cat
Good vibrations: Simon enjoys some music right in front of the stereo.

“Simon was in so much pain, though he never acted mean in any way, but we could tell, the last time the leg broke again, he was done with it,” his people agreed. “The veterinarian removed his leg the next day and Simon was awake and alert, eating and social just hours afterward. We could tell he was thanking us!”

He came home the day after the amputation surgery and walked around as if nothing had happened except that he now had a slightly altered gait. He also had no problem being an indoor cat after that experience.

“We don’t know where Simon came from,” his mom said. “He just showed up and was eating with the outdoor cats. We were trying to track down an owner if there was one before we decided we’d get him neutered, then this happened. I think he was meant to be ours anyway.”

gray and white cat by door.
Simon watches for his outdoor buddies

He’d obviously been with people before so he was certainly not a feral kitten and for as friendly as he was from the very beginning he was likely someone’s pet. He may have escaped or gotten lost after being chased, or he may have been one of those unfortunate cats who people drive out to a rural place and drop off in an area where they see cats around a house. No one knows where Simon came from, and it’s sad to think what would have happened to him had he not felt comfortable enough with the couple giving him food and shelter outdoors to drag himself back, or if the trap had been tied down to hold it in place.

Simon lives with a family of five other rescued felines, plus a half dozen or so who eat right outside the door. But he’s got a loving home indoors now and a long life ahead of him.


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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

8 thoughts on “Rescue Story: Simon Says…

  • da tabbies o trout towne

    dood…wee bee thinkin R pal St Francis wuz doin hiz best ta watch out for ewe…veree nice ta meet cha N way happee thiz storee hada grate ending !!

    Reply
    • I’m sure St. Francis was looking over him, Tabbies!

      Reply
  • Simon is a lovely cat. Traps like that are frightening,and we’re glad that his rescue story has such a happy ending!

    Pee Ess: Your “Cooper” link is 404 when we click on it.

    Reply
    • Gang, that couple is the best house for a stray cat to show up, and they would always do what they could. PA is actually really rural and this is not uncommon. Thanks for the 404 notice–some of my really old posts didn’t convert and every once in a while one shows up. I’ll fix that.

      Reply
  • Simon, you’ve had a rough start, but I think you’ve got a great life now. Cheers!

    Reply
  • Some kitties and humans are just meant to find each other and spend their lives together. We think that was the case with Simon and his family. What a great rescue with a happy ending. Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

    Reply
    • Kitties Blue, you are right, he fit right in even after that major trauma, and he’d never even been in the house before.

      Reply

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