Years ago, a distant friend shared on social media that he and his family had found a kitten in the bushes, shivering from the rain, and in pretty bad condition. The little puffball weighed only a pound and a half, but his cries could not be ignored. 

My friend's social media post stated the little guy seemed to have a badly broken front leg, limp and jetting tangent to the rest of his body. He took the cat to the local Vet ER for x-rays and evaluation. Meanwhile, I obsessively checked the post for updates.

Finally, the update: little guy's broken leg needed to be amputated if he was going to survive the week. My friend, not a "cat person," was not prepared to pay for surgery and recovery for an animal he had no ties to, and Informed us that sadly, the cat would likely be euthanized the next morning.

Um, absolutely not!

I asked my friend for the Vet ER phone number, called the vet, and offered to sponsor the floof's surgery and recovery in preparation for adoption. Oh, did I mention my friend and this vet was in Lafayette, Louisiana, 400+ miles away from where I live?!

I had a serious conversation with the veterinarian about how a creature of only 1.5lbs might not survive the anesthesia, much less the amputation. I understood the risks, but I had to give the little guy a chance at life, right?

I did. I sponsored his surgery.

And the little guy did GREAT! He made it out of surgery, and was thriving! By the weekend, when my family and I drove the 400+ miles to meet our new family member, he had grown to 2lbs!

Dedicated to the bacchanal, Crutches the 3 Legged Black Cat is a joyful, hilarious addition to our family, with personality plus! His antics and attitude are the inspiration behind my line of Hiss & Tell Notecards and cat art! Available at