3-Legged Kitten Found Badly Injured In Perris Now Available For Adoption
PERRIS (CBSLA.com) — A three-legged kitten just wants a forever home for Christmas.
The gray-and-white cat was discovered Thursday near the intersection of Huckleberry Drive and Wilson Avenue with severe, life-threatening injuries, according to Riverside County Department of Animal Services spokesman John Welsh.
Edith Rios and her daughter-in-law, Kelley Gonzalez, were walking to a community mailbox when they spotted the kitten laying in bushes, her right front leg virtually shredded, exposing bone from end to end.
"At first, it looked like its guts were sticking out – that's how bad it was," Ms. Rios said. "Her arm was just bones and tissue hanging. It was really, really bad."
Rios and her daughter-in-law bundled the kitten into some towels and rushed the kitten to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus.
The kitten's prognosis was initially listed as "poor to grave." But the extent of her injury may have saved her life.
"I think the reason she survived might have had to do with her arm and how it was so badly mangled and spun that the arteries and veins were twisted to ligation," said Eileen Sanders, supervising registered veterinary technician.
The feline, dubbed "Holly" by veterinary staff, had her front right leg completely removed.
It's not clear how the kitten was injured, but theories range from being hit by a car, being attacked by a larger animal or getting caught by surprised by a fan belt inside a car engine.
"This kitten is a fighter," said Emma Perez-Singh, a supervisor at the San Jacinto shelter. "She's in great spirits, considering the injuries she sustained."
Visit the Riverside County Department of Animal Services for details on how to adopt Holly.
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