Brave Toulouse

Today is two months since Toulouse’s big day. Early in the morning on December 17th, we packed up Toulouse and headed off to the veterinario, the vet, for surgery on his right front leg. You might remember the dramatic way little Toulouse came into our family on a Monday at the end of last summer. As a tiny kitten he was attacked by a stray cat right in front of our eyes and suffered significant nerve damage. He couldn’t walk at all for about a week, but slowly he regained movement in all of his legs except the right front one. Discussing his situation with an experienced vet and childhood friend of my husband, we we made the difficult decision to amputate the leg that he couldn’t move. We knew it was the best option for Toulouse’s well being, but it was still a hard choice.

Eventually it would have developed more complicated issues, and the younger we did it the easier it would be for him to adapt. Turns out that getting used to moving around on three legs was pretty easy! Since he hadn’t had use of that leg since he was about 4 weeks old, he was already a pro at jumping, running and playing. We noticed it was significantly easier for him without the weight of that leg or the claws getting stuck.

We stuck pretty close to home for Christmas and New Year’s while Toulouse healed. It was a rather slow process since he’s a rambunctious kitten. He pulled some stitches out and had to have 4 more put back in. He didn’t seem to notice much, but it freaked us out. He was far too busy playing and enjoying all the fun things of Christmas. Like wrapping (and unwrapping) presents!

Toulouse is a curious, playful and very sweet little guy, and he has quickly become a part of our family. We couldn’t imagine the house without him! And although he may only have one front leg, he has already figured out how to use it for maximum cuteness.

Toulouse had an unlucky start to life, but we’re so grateful to have him in our lives. He needed a family to love him, but I suspect we needed him as much as he needed us!