Yoga Cat

We had just started counting cats for spaying on our usual feeding rounds when we saw a lone cat sitting at a distance next to a worker. We felt something was amiss, so we called out to the worker and asked why the cat was on its own.

“Oh, leg no more, no walk,” he called back to us.

A worker showing us the injured cat

Immediately, I panicked and asked him to carry the cat over so that I could have a look. The moment I laid eyes on her, I was shocked beyond words. Her hind legs were so badly broken that she could not stand. They were sticking out in completely wrong directions. It was obvious that it was an old injury, as her bones had fused solid at those awkward angles. Just look at the photos and imagine the pain the cat would have gone through, dragging her wasted legs behind her for months as her broken bones mended themselves slowly, in all the wrong ways.

She can no longer bend her right hind leg
 

Look at this poor cat! Her left hind was in an entirely wrong angle!
 

She had not had a proper meal in a long while as there was no way she could get about without being mauled by dogs

By this time, Burmese workers from around the area had gathered around the scene. They informed me that, some time ago, people had clubbed the cat with a “kayu” – which means wooden stick in Malay. Saddened but furious, I demanded to know who could possibly have done such a thing to her. Immediately, the workers clammed up and shook their heads. They probably didn’t want trouble at the work place. It was infuriating, but there was nothing more we could do about the incident.
 



At the vet



Look at the sorry state she was in. Her limbs were all wrong!

How could any human possibly be so evil to beat a living creature to this extent?

We scooped the cat from the worker’s arms and propped her up on a high wooden box, safe from the stray dogs, so that she could eat. She was mere skin and bones; we could feel every detail in her fragile skeletal frame as we carried her. The poor starved kitty probably never had a good chance to forage for food in her condition. She hungrily wolfed down three whole cans of canned food as we watched. Although she was a little shy, she was truly a friendly and sweet creature.

 

After she was finally done eating, we placed the cat into a carrier and brought her straight to the vet. Unfortunately, we were told that there was no way her legs could be saved. Amputation was the only option. Right now, she gets around by pulling herself along on the ground with her 2 front paws, dragging her back legs behind her as she moves. The vet believes that amputating her hind legs would make it easier for her to “walk”.

Look how her legs fused in the wrong direction after the bones joined. Imagine the pain and suffering she has gone through

Talk about animal cruelty! We simply cannot imagine why or how someone could do this to a tiny, defenseless creature, why anyone would abuse and torture innocent animals. Imagine the pain this cat has gone through, and how her life has been changed irrevocably because of a single act of meaningless violence. She’s a trooper, she survived; but there are millions of animals out there who are still being abused and who aren’t so lucky.
 

If you see cases of animal abuse, please notify the authorities or call an animal welfare organization. Every life is worth saving.

Written by Elena Lin