A group of kids was playing outside their apartment complex in Phoenix, Arizona when they saw a shocking sight.
The kids spotted a little kitten sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. Her back legs were covered in dirty, makeshift casts.
The kids rushed the kitten inside one of their apartments and showed their parents. Their parents were surprised and concerned—it was clear the kitten needed help. They decided to call Kathy Hamel, a well-known animal rescuer in the community. She was also the director of the Arizona Shih Tzu and Small Breed Rescue.
“I’m sure they had no idea what to make of what they saw and they took her home to ask their parents what to do with her,” Hamel told The Dodo.
Hamel raced over to the apartment. When she saw the kitten, it was clear she needed to take her to the vet. The kitten was clearly malnourished and dehydrated—she wouldn’t have been able to last much longer on her own.
The kids who had found the kitten said goodbye to their new friend. One of the little girls told Hamel she had named the kitten cupcake, which Hamel loved.
“She was quite a sight,” Hamel said. “I have to admit I have never seen anything quite like it. Besides the strange apparatus that she was dragging around behind her she was so incredibly tiny! She looked so much bigger in the picture I had been sent.”
Hamel took Cupcake to the vet, where she received treatment for her malnourishment.
The vet determined that the cat was about six weeks old. He also cut off Cupcake’s makeshift casts. The first one came off easily, but the other one was incredibly tight—it had clearly been causing the kitten pain.
Once the casts were off, the vet examined Cupcake’s legs. To his shock, her legs were completely fine.
Hamel and the vet couldn’t understand why someone would put casts on a kitten who wasn’t hurt. Cupcake seemed happy to have the weight lifted from her legs—she purred contently.
Even though Cupcake had been through so much in her short life, she was still as sweet as could be.
“She pushes her head against your finger to make you rub on her and scratch her head,” Hamel said. “She loves to be petted but is so tiny you can only pet her with [a] finger or two and not a whole hand yet.”
After the vet finished examining Cupcake, Hamel took her home. The little kitten needed lots of love and care, but slowly but surely, she started feeling better.
Once Cupcake is completely recovered, she’ll go to her forever home—Hamel has already found the perfect family for her. Cupcake’s first few weeks of life were tough, but now this little kitten has a great family who already loves her more than anything!
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