A black kitten left for dead on the unluckiest day of the year has enjoyed a change of fortune after coming into the care of a kindly Dapto vet.
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It was Friday the 13th of May when a passer-by found a tiny ball of black fluff beside the Princes Highway.
The kitten had a broken leg and serious internal injuries, probably from being run over.
She was delivered to Dapto’s Companion Animal Vet, where principal veterinarian Matt Young intervened.
Though hundreds of thousands of cats will perish in Australian pounds this year, Mr Young thought this one worth two surgical procedures.
“We treat all animals as individuals and I won’t say no just because there’s a lot of cats around,” Mr Young told the Mercury.
“And she was just so cute.
“She was tiny and cold because she’d just been sitting there, fending for herself basically.
“She just seemed like a really sweet little cat. I couldn’t say no.”
Mr Young pinned the kitten’s leg back together and, in a second operation, repaired a hernia that had caused her insides to fall apart.
Somewhere along the way, carers gave her a name: Friday.
Friday is now making a full return to health.
Wollongong Animal Rescue Network founder Naomi John has found the kitten capable of a purr and grateful for a friendly touch.
“She collapses when you pat her ears,” she said.
The volunteer-run WARN rescues cats and dogs from animal shelters at Renbury, Blacktown and Campbelltown and places them with foster carers until a permanent home can be found.
Ms John estimates the network has saved several hundred cats in its two years of operation.
“There’s a huge amount of cats are getting put down,” she said. “A lot of kittens die as soon as they hit the pound because they don’t vaccinate and they lump them all together and they’re subjected to disease.”
Friday will soon become eligible for adoption.
Ms John is looking for an owner who can commit to taking on a cat for its lifetime and – in Friday’s case – keeping it off the road.
“We’re looking for a lovely family that will keep her indoors, keep her safe.”
Contact WARN via its Facebook page or website – http://www.wollongonganimalrescuenetwork.com – to enquire about adopting Friday.
