Andre
By WisCATsin

Last January our rescue shelter gave me Andre to foster. His family had brought him in, but had not given a reason why. They only said that his deformed front legs had been that way from birth and he was about 8 months old.

I settled him in the room I use for foster cats, and right away I noticed that not only were his front legs deformed -- a very short radius and ulna and elbows frozen at a 90-degree angle -- but he is polydactyl and extremely shy.

For a couple of months he would hide when I went in to tend to him. Finally he started lying on the sofa and letting me pet him, and I was thrilled when he began to purr. After fostering him for 5 months, and not having anyone answer ads for a "special-needs kitty," I realized that no one would adopt him, so I decided to keep him myself. I had already fallen in love with him anyway, and had had him neutered and checked for contagious diseases. As soon as I introduced him into the rest of the house with my other cats, his personality began to bloom, and he is now a playful, happy young cat.