George is a very fast cat that loves to sprint around his house. And the ginger cat does it with just his front two legs since he is paraplegic.
The orphaned cat is currently being fostered by UC Davis students Natalie Laurie and Claire Chung. The women came across George through the Orphan Kitty Project.
The Orphan Kitty Project is a nonprofit student-run organization at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. The program takes in orphaned or abandoned kittens under four weeks of age.
Orphan Kitten Project
They find foster homes for the kittens who stay in the program until a forever home is located. The two women had never fostered a cat before and started talking about the possibility after learning about the program.
Laurie and Chung discussed fostering kittens for two days and couldn’t decide which cat with special needs to adopt. Then Laurie got an email from the organization about George needing a foster home.
She immediately signed up to adopt George, who is now in their care. George has paraplegia which affects his lower body and back legs.
These areas no longer have muscle function, so he can’t walk on his back legs or use a litter box. That means George has to wear baby diapers that need to be changed three to four times a day.
“The struggles vary across different paraplegic cats, but George needs frequent diaper changes because he can’t walk over and into the litter box,” Chung told The California Aggie. “Due to this, we try our best in including diaper changes as part of our daily schedule [by] going back to our apartment after a morning class or afternoon class. Contrary to what most people may think, caring for George is like caring for any other cat or dog. Besides diaper changes which only take about five minutes or less, George is a wonderful companion and comes with lots of love, cuteness, and one-of-a-kind zoomies.”
George has learned to get around by using his front two paws and dragging the rest of his body with him. Because he’s been doing this at such a young age, George is now extremely fast. It’s a truly incredible sight to see.
George ended up going viral on TikTok for his two-legged zoomies. Amazingly George has not experienced carpet or floor burns and safely gets around on his own without using a wheelchair.
Two-legged zoomies
“I believe it’s due to the elevation his poofy diaper provides for his hind legs,” Chung said. “The problem with wheels is that George wouldn’t be able to sit or lay down properly when he wants to take a break. Amputation is not an option unless he has serious health issues stemming from his hind legs, which is not true. He is doing just fine with his legs, so for now, we will be gladly keeping them attached.”
Unfortunately, George’s foster moms cannot adopt him permanently, so he is still looking for a forever home. You can find George’s adoption information on Petfinder and check him out on TikTok and Instagram. Learn more about The Orphaned Kitten Project on Facebook and orphankittenproject.org.