Rescue of Kiddo

Something terrible happened to a beautiful stray calico cat named Kiddo. No one knows what caused Kiddo's horrible injury, but the result was a broken hip or leg bone that punctured a hole in her right side. Whenever Kiddo would move, the bone would protrude through the hole and rub against the torn flesh which prevented the wound from healing. Kiddo kept the wound as clean as she could, but the pain must have been almost unbearable as she tried to adjust to getting around on three legs.

Kiddo was found living under the deck of an unoccupied house by some very nice people who live in the neighborhood. After seeing she was badly injured and clearly suffering from lack of food, they began putting out food for her and tried to catch her numerous times, but to no avail. Kiddo was resourceful and had found a small hole in the foundation of the house, and when necessary, she would escape into the hole out of fear and to avoid capture. Some of the neighbors crawled under the house, but could only go so far, and Kiddo knew all the hiding places.

The neighbors eventually became Kiddo's Guardian Angels, watching over her whenever they could. Some watched over her more closely when they heard a coyote was in the area. One neighbor, Mrs. Donita Kennedy, fed her every day, staying with her until she ate all the food so nothing would be left that might draw other animals that could possibly do her harm. Mrs. Kennedy gave her the name Kiddo and eventually gained her confidence and was able to occasionally pet her, but could not catch her.

After hearing about Panama City Beach Paws and Claws, the neighbors contacted us and told us about Kiddo. We went out to the location to see Kiddo and were shocked to see that her injury was worse than we imagined. After checking out the situation, and even though Kiddo would come up to us and let us pet her, it was obvious she would not allow herself to be captured. The only thing we could do was return with a humane trap. Later that day, we set the trap after a short time, she was caught.

A Paws and Claws volunteer took Kiddo to Parkway Animal Hospital for medical evaluation. Dr. Stephen Collier examined Kiddo's wound and concluded that the best option would be to amputate her leg. We were told that the surgery went well. Kiddo did not give up, and her post-surgery recovery was successful.

Fortunately, Kiddo's Guardian Angels were not through with her yet. Mrs. Kennedy asked to have Kiddo returned to her home when she was well enough to leave the hospital so she could nurse her back to health and continue doing what Guardian Angels do...watching over Kiddo. After the surgery and a 12-day stay in the hospital, Paws and Claws happily returned Kiddo to her new forever home in the neighborhood where, when needed the kindness of humans most, she had found it.