Kitten Named Grandpa: Cat World’s Benjamin Button

• A newborn kitten with twisted hind legs from too-short ligaments and with cleft palate surrendered to shelter.
• Shelter contacts Stephanie Medrano who took the kitten home names him Grandpa for his crumpled and grumpy-looking face.
• After Stephanie’s TLC, Grandpa now shows normal kitten breakthroughs like grooming, stretching, yawning, putting on weight and growing fur.

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For a kitten born with a cleft palate and twisted hind legs caused by too-short ligaments, life can be hard.  And people might just give up on you because of the round-the-clock care that is required to keep you alive.  Which is what happened with Grandpa.

When the kitten was surrendered to Stray Cat Alliance in Los Angeles, California, because his humans could not handle taking care of him, he was not yet named Grandpa.

But Stephanie Medrano who has already taken care of a lot of animals, named him Grandpa because of his grumpy and crumpled looking face.

In the first few days in her care, Grandpa’s cleft palate made it difficult for him to be fed. He even had a hard time competing with his littermates for food because of his legs. But he showed that he wanted to live and fought to survive by having a healthy appetite.

Giving up on him was simply not an option for Stephanie. She tube-fed him and gave him leg massages to make him more mobile and to stretch his tendons.

Stephanie explained, “The twisted leg syndrome is from his tendons being short, which pulls his legs backward. Stretching his legs will help elongate the tendon, and as he grows, hopefully, his legs will start to adjust on their own.”

And what a big difference the TLC made for Grandpa. He still sleeps most of the time but he already doubled his weight and filled his coat. He even learned to yawn, stretch, and groom himself.  He now exhibits the changes that a normal kitten would show. 

Stephanie said, “He will require a cleft palate surgery or multiple, depending on his future needs, and leg splints if his legs need more help later on.”

But every day that he fights to live, he overcomes obstacles. And when he opened his eyes for the first time, he really earned his name Grandpa.

Keep on winning battles, Grandpa. We’re cheering you on!

Source: Inspire More