Merida was found on a farm unable to move her back legs at only two months old.
Her back legs were wounded and it looked as though she had suffered a spinal injury, possibly from being stepped on by a large animal at the farm.
Thankfully Jillian, the founder of Foster Baby Cats, was able to get her to a vet right away.
Once there, the vets told Jillian that there was nothing that could be done, and they advised her to put the kitten down.
But Jillian wanted to give the kitten a chance.
And little Merida turned out to be a fighter.
Never give up
After Jillian decided to keep Merida and try give her a chance at a normal life she sought out the best ways to help the little kitten.
Dr. Jackie Holdsworth, a veterinary surgeon and neonatal specialist who has several of her own special needs cats reached out to her to offer her guidance and support.
Soon, as Merida began to regain her strength, she showed just how determined she was to keep living.
“The first time she decided to ‘cat,’ she also showed me what a tenacious little fighter she was going to be. She might only have two fully functional legs but she still gets the zoomies.”
Jillian, LoveMeow, 2022.
Merida joined two other resident cats at Jillian’s home, and it wasn’t long before she was running rings around them.
According to Jillian, Merida’s fierce personality is the “only way she survived her first 2.5 months of life without intervention.”.
Seeing her energetic spirit in the videos posted on her Instagram page definitely points to this conclusion!
Helping out Mom
As Merida improved and came into herself, Jillian began fostering more cats and kittens as part of her rescue work.
One of the most recent cats that Jillian took into her care is Eenie, a white kitten who also has two paralyzed back legs.
Lucky for him, Merida was on hand to show him how to live life to the fullest.
Merida is mentoring Eenie in all parts of kitty life, making sure he knows how to get around with ease so he can get in to all kinds of shenanigans!
But Merida still retains her positon of boss kitty of the house, she’s the original ‘one who wears the pants’ after all.