Hannah Shaw, known as the Kitten Lady, came across Chloe, a six-week-old kitten with paralyzed back legs, while picking up another two-week-old kitten that needed special care from a local shelter.
It was suspected that Chloe’s rear leg paralysis was caused by abuse and looking at the kitten, Shaw couldn’t leave her behind.
She decided to foster Chloe along with the two-week-old kitten she initially went to the shelter for. It was going to be a long and tough journey ahead, but worth every second for both Chloe and Shaw.
Prognosis
After getting Chloe all cleaned up, the next day she had her first vet visit to get some x-rays and a general examination.
Unfortunately, things did not look good.
Chloe had a crushed spine, likely the result of being stepped on, which resulted in three broken vertebrae right above her bladder
Not only was the injury so severe that Chloe would never walk again, but Chloe could not pass urine by herself and her bladder was so full that it was close to rupturing.
Luckily, the vets were able to intervene in time to save her, but her bladder remained very hard.
The vets concluded that this was because “muscles of her urethral sphincter are constricted”, so the treatment going forward for Chloe was muscle relaxants and having her bladder expressed manually by Shaw.
But this prognosis did not deter the Kitten Lady, she chose to focus on the positives; Chloe was not in any pain and seemed happy to be with her, so that was good enough for Shaw.
Getting better
Despite the prognosis, Shaw was determined to do anything to help little Chloe and so she took her to an acupuncturist to help her with some of her problems.
Within the first session, Chloe was responding to the treatment and the night after her first appointment she was able to urinate by herself!
Shaw even got her a set of wheels to help her move around, but it turned out that the wheelchair was more of a restriction for Chloe.
With Chloe making such strides in her recovery, it was time to think about getting her adopted to a forever home.
Although Shaw loved Chloe and was completely devoted to her care, there were other kittens that needed her help, and ultimately the goal of all her kitten rescues is to get them to a good home.
Thankfully, Shaw found the perfect home for Chloe.
Chloe is now in an amazing forever home, with owners who are dedicated to her health and happiness, and she even has her own Instagram where you can follow her every new adventure!