* Summer has been adopted by her foster family! Yippee! *

We wish the animals we rescue could tell us their story. The life they had before they became stray, or were surrendered or abandoned…how many homes they’ve had…how far they’ve travelled…if they are hurting physically or emotionally…their fears…their age…their name. We can often gather some small bits of this information from vet visits and through an animal’s foster family, once they get to know them. But in Summer’s case, we can’t even begin to imagine what this kitten has been through.
Summer was brought into Hamilton Animal Services as an apparent stray. Though judging by Summer’s condition, this story seemed suspect. Shelter staff had to take Summer’s “finder” at their word, and Summer was entered her in their system as a found cat. At first glance, Summer looks like your typical inbred cat; huge eyes that are set far apart, and a derpy look on her face. But when shelter staff examined her body, they knew something was wrong. Her legs looked deformed. Back legs misaligned, front legs bowed. From her hobbled walk, it was obvious she was in pain. Despite how she must have been feeing, she was friendly and sweet towards shelter staff. They sent her to their vet where she had xrays done and she was started on pain medication. The xrays were mostly inconclusive, though the vet did note that there were some abnormalities.
Because of financial restrictions placed on them by the municipality, shelter staff knew they were at the limit for the amount of money they could spend on medical care for Summer. So they asked for help.
We got Summer out of the shelter and took her straight to our vet. More xrays were taken, and they were sent to a radiologist for their opinion. The radiologist’s report was shocking:
“There are multiple folding like fractures which includes a distal left femur fracture, a mid diaphyseal tibia and fibular fracture and a distal right tibia fracture. There is curvature of the radius and ulna bilaterally with an incomplete fracture of the distal right radius and ulna. There are equivocal bilateral ilial wing fractures with moderate narrowing of the pelvic canal likely suggesting pubic fractures as well. On the lateral image of the body, there is the potential of an incomplete spine of the scapula fracture.”
In layman’s terms, pretty much all Summer’s bones were broken and are in different states of healing. The possible cause of all these broken bones – traumatic injury, such as being hit by a car, falling from a height, or blunt force trauma. The other possibilities are that she has brittle bone disease, or another medical condition that causes weakness in the bone structure. We’ve sent a blood sample for testing to see if anything can be gleaned that way, and more comprehensive testing will be done if needed.

Summer is now in a loving foster home where her foster family have modified her living area to help with her limited mobility. She will continue to be on pain medication, and her foster family and vet will monitor how she does over the next while. She is eating well, and using the litter box. She loves to sit in her foster mom’s lap and purr up a storm.

At only about four months old, this wee kitten has been through so much. Our hearts break for her. Summer can’t tell us what happened in her past, but we will do our best to ensure she lives her best life going forward.

Welcome to Ladybird, Summer! We’re so happy you’re here!

September 14/24 UPDATE

Summer continues to do great despite her diagnosis of secondary hyperparathyroidism. This disease is associated with malnutrition and deficiency of calcium and vitamin D which is needed for proper growth and development. It can result in weak bones that break easily, poor growth, and constipation – all of which she suffers from. Thankfully now that she is on a proper diet and medications, she is thriving. She so badly wants to play with her foster siblings and is becoming more and more brave with her surroundings – definitely a sign she is feeling better. She is having recheck xrays soon to determine the status of her fractures – the last xrays showed they were improving but not fully healed yet. She loves her toys, her “play pen”, and snuggling on anyone’s lap she can lay on. Since she can maneuver around better, she recently discovered she can sit up and will sit like a penguin waiting for you to greet her while she chirps away with her little meows (she’s quite the talker!). Only time will tell if Summer’s condition will continue to improve, but for now she is happy and so loved.

October 31/24 UPDATE
Summer says Happy Halloween!

November 14/24 UPDATE
Summer’s mobility has greatly improved! She’s now exploring, climbing and playing with the other pets in her foster home. We’re so happy to see this! Summer was spayed yesterday and did great for the surgery. While she was under anesthetic, xrays were done and they showed that Summer’s bones are more dense now, and there are no new fractures or lesions. Her limbs are bowed and slightly deformed from her previous fractures, but that doesn’t slow her down at all. We’re thrilled that Summer is feeling so much better. Big thank you to her vet and foster family for getting her through the worst of her condition.
Hopefully once Summer is healed from her spay surgery, she can start the search for her forever home.

Way to go, Summer!