Forrest, the Backwards Footed Kitten
September 4th, 2006
My mom has a bunch of pepper trees that grow along the outside of her front yard. Every year one of the neighborhood feral cat has a litter of kittens in the burrows at the base of these pepper trees. My mom first discovered these kittens in her trees when the city came to do their annual tree trimming and almost sawed a kitten in half with a chain saw. My mom rescued the kitten and that cat has been in the family ever since.
It’s not like my mom wants more cats, it’s just that she has a soft spot for them. (With this newest batch, the cat count is up to a shocking 18!) She took in the latest litter and bottle fed them with the intention to get them fixed and find them homes (though not necessarily in that order) so the feral cat population wouldn’t continue to grow exponentially in her front yard. But of course along the way we’ve all fallen in love with them.
One of the most special kittens is Forrest. Forrest has gimpy back legs. They are on backwards. He was born this way and seems to be in no pain at all. In fact, he romps and plays with his brother’s and sister as if he was a normal cat. He holds his own and wrestles just fine. He runs just as fast as the other’s by using his extra strong front paws and dragging his useless back paws behind him. The only thing he can’t do is scratch his ears with his back leg. He tries. It breaks your heart. He’s such a cute little guy.
We’re hoping to find homes for all the kittens but I have a feeling Forrest is going to stay. He has special needs and somehow he’s managed to crawl right into our hearts with those funny back legs.
September 5th, 2006 at 2:29 am
:)
September 5th, 2006 at 4:07 am
So very cute.
September 5th, 2006 at 5:15 am
has it been mentioned here before that rapunzel is reminiscent of olive in the movie Little Miss Sunshine? or, i suppose, olive is reminiscent of rapunzel. it’s worth getting a baby sitter so you can see for yourself.
September 5th, 2006 at 10:18 am
Haven’t seen it yet but I’d like to!
September 5th, 2006 at 11:32 am
This makes me want a kitty so bad.
September 5th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
I would love to adopt him if we could get him to Tulsa, OK….what a doll! It sounds like your family loves the babies as much as we do!
September 5th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
we got a new kitten too .. she had one brother left and i wanted to get both so bad. her name is lucy and she is tiny!
September 5th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
I have a soft spot for kitties… Wish I lived closer and could adopt one of your mom’s kitties. Thanks for sharing.
September 5th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
I hope my cat crazy mother does not see this, because she’ll want one. Or seven.
September 5th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
did i just see that the sign described those kittens as CUTE *AND* ADORABLE?!? who in their right mind could resist?
September 5th, 2006 at 8:34 pm
We had a cat whose front paws were angled inwards - kind of like she had two sets of back legs. We named her Rabbit and she was fine - didn’t pass on her disability to any of the kittens she had, either. It’s amazing how well kitties with disabilities can do when they’re cared for!
September 6th, 2006 at 7:40 am
OHHHHH I want a kitty!!! It’s a good thing that I don’t live near there because I would take every one of them and boy would my hubby be upset because he is allergic.