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Lifestyle & Human Interest

Abandoned Kitten Found Barely Able To Crawl with Makeshift Casts Digging into Back Legs

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An abused kitten named Cupcake is recovering after she was found abandoned near a Phoenix, Arizona, apartment complex with makeshift casts wrapped around her back legs.

If animals could share their stories, Cupcake would have a bizarre, sad history to tell. We will likely never know exactly how she ended up abandoned on a hot Phoenix sidewalk, but thanks to a group of children and a team of adult rescuers, Cupcake has a chance at a new life.

A group of children saw the small, struggling kitten while they were playing outside, according to The Dodo. Likely confused and rattled by her startling appearance, the kids brought her home to get help and decided that her name should be Cupcake.

“I’m sure they had no idea what to make of what they saw and they took her home to ask their parents what to do with her,” Kathy Hamel, director of Arizona Shih Tzu and Small Breed Rescue, told The Dodo.

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The children’s parents chose to call Hamel, who has a reputation in the Phoenix area for her tireless animal welfare advocacy efforts.

“We’re not really sure what to make of this one,” Arizona Shih Tzu and Small Breed Rescue wrote on Facebook. “Not sure of these homemade leg casts – a poor attempt to treat at home or someone’s sick form of abuse.”

A trip to the veterinarian revealed that Cupcake’s legs were not broken at all. There was nothing wrong with the kitten’s legs, aside from being weakened from unnecessary casts.

The kitten’s casts had been customized to fit the kitten’s legs perfectly, made from wood, fabric strips and plaster, leading rescuers to agree that an adult had deliberately tried to harm the kitten or somehow thought the casts were actually helping.

She was dehydrated, malnourished and weighed less than a pound.

As the staff got to know their small patient, they found Cupcake to have a very sweet, easygoing temperament.

Despite her trauma, she welcomed the cuddles and affection from loving caregivers.

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“She is a tough little girl with a wonderful spirit,” Hamel told The Dodo. “She has been so tolerant of all the pulling and washing and prodding and needles and thermometers and being handled by countless people, all who are only trying to help her.

“She purrs and craves attention and seems to hold no ill will towards humans for whatever they have done to her.”

Hamel said that Cupcake is living with a foster family while she heals and already has an adoptive family lined up when she is ready.

The kitten still has a lot of physical recovering to do, but her supporters are cheering on the tiny fighter, hoping she will continue to grow into a healthy, flourishing cat.

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A graduate of Grand Canyon University, Kim Davis has been writing for The Western Journal since 2015, focusing on lifestyle stories.
Kim Davis began writing for The Western Journal in 2015. Her primary topics cover family, faith, and women. She has experience as a copy editor for the online publication Thoughtful Women. Kim worked as an arts administrator for The Phoenix Symphony, writing music education curriculum and leading community engagement programs throughout the region. She holds a degree in music education from Grand Canyon University with a minor in eating tacos.
Birthplace
Page, Arizona
Education
Bachelor of Science in Music Education
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Lifestyle & Human Interest




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