Bastet’s rescuers realized that the cat’s vicious demeanor wasn’t a personality trait but the result of being in terrible pain caused by broken limbs. Defying the odds, Bastet is now not only a happy cat but a walking one too.
The folks at Cats of San Bernadino got a tip about a cat in a septic tank hole. They found Bastet sitting in a shallow pool of septic water inside the tank hole.
Bastet was as feral as she could be. She was also incredibly hard to reach. The harder rescuers tried, the harder their efforts became.
Angry cat
A rescuer named Jaina was finally able to lure Bastet closer with some food. Jaina grabbed the cat once she was close enough.
Bastet was protesting pretty fiercely with her growls and hissing. She even tried to bite Jaina through the capture net.
Bastet was also not interested in being put in a cat carrier and tried to claw her way out of it. Jaina and her crew were likely the only humans Bastet had ever come into contact with.
It wasn’t long before they realized why Bastet was acting with such anger. The poor kitten was in terrible pain and severely injured.
Bastet’s legs appeared to be broken in the opposite direction, and fell completely limp. This left the kitten paralyzed in her hind legs.
She was only able to get around by dragging her legs behind her. Bastet’s demeanor immediately softened when she was given pain medication.
“We were heartbroken because we know what that means. We knew it was going to be a struggle. We gave her the pain meds and that calmed her down a lot because it took the pain away,” Jaina told The Dodo.
Jaina realized that the care that Bastet would need would be extensive. She wasn’t even able to use the bathroom on her own.
The rescuers needed to assist her with going to the bathroom several times a day. They were told that Bastet would never be able to walk.
Walk like an Egyptian
“We didn’t really want her dragging herself very much. So, I carried her for weeks. We knew that she was needing some to get used to human contact,” Jaina said.
Bastet became less angry and friendlier to her humans over time. It would be up to Bastet if she wanted to walk again, but Jaina wanted to allow her to try.
Cats of San Bernardino did stretching exercises with Bastet until she could bend her knee. She was given a kitten wheelchair to get used to being independent.
She also used a walking harness to grow stronger and practice the movements of walking. Soon she began to stand on her own.
Then walk. Now Bastet can run and jump. She’s also changed on the inside, as well on the outside.
“I think the emotional transformation has been even crazier than the physical one. Cause she was so angry and she’s so loving. She loves us so much and she loves contact. Just seeing that she’s recovered and she’s going to live a normal life is amazing,” Jaina said.
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