This is Batman.
He’s only a year old, and playful like most young cats are. He chases toy balls, and adores these braided strips. He bats them and bites them and then gives you that ‘this is mine now’ look.
My precious…
He’s sweet, too. Laps are one of his favorite places to curl up, purring. He’ll jump right up there, get comfortable, and settle down. While he’ll sit there quietly, he’ s happy to get some attention, rubbing against your hand as you pet him, or staring up at your face and offering a chirpy ‘hello’ meow.
This lap is mine.
And he’s missing a leg.
He came into the shelter with a limp. Even so, he was sweet and glad for attention, and didn’t complain a bit. But when the clinic checked him out, they determined his leg was fractured–broken in several places.
When he was healed, he came back to the shelter again.
I immediately checked him out, because he was a favorite of mine, and I was worried about him. How would he be coping? Would he still a happy, friendly cat that could find a good home?
His fur is growing back, and he’s growing accustomed to running and jumping in his tripod state. When he’s in motion, or curled up missing leg down, people didn’t even realize the leg was gone.
Batman’s not just getting by–he’s enjoying life.
Nail clippers? Is this a toy, too?
And someone thought he was wonderful just like I do, enough to adopt him. He went home later that day. This Tuesday, things turned out okay for this little guy, despite life’s setbacks.
You can’t keep Batman down.
caitlinsternwrites 
I’m so glad he found a home! Three-legged cats and dogs do just fine, and missing a leg doesn’t usually change their personality at all. A great story, Caitlin! For a look at MY tuxedo kitty, Harry, who luckily has all his legs and seems to be the picture of good health, check here:
http://marciameara.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/the-literary-cat-1-2/
Of the four cats I currently have in residence, he is my favorite. His sister, Murphy, is so shy that even after nearly two years, neither Mark nor I can walk over to her without her running away, though she will come to your lap of her own accord if you are very quiet. Our Molly is the oldest 13-year old cat you ever saw, and pretty decrepit. And Abby the Tabby is a huge fat, fur-covered basketball who mostly just sits around like a lump. But Harry…he’s the life of the party, and this particular party needs some life, believe me.
Great story, Caitlin. Thanks for sharing!
Aww, I love tuxedo cats. Especially when they have little mustaches, or white toes or tail-tips.
My first cat was a literary Harry, too–Harry Houdini Potter, named by the English teacher who rescued him.
I have a cat much like your Murphy–she runs away about 95% of the time, and likes to ‘hide’ under the sofa with her rear sticking out.
Don’t you wonder what’s going on in their little Skittery Kittery minds?
I have a dog named Potter. Sir Hairy Potter, to be exact. Well, to be really, really exact, it’s actually registered as The Phantom’s Sir Hairy Potter of Sanford. Not TOO silly, is it? (He was a rescue, but he came with papers. The dachshund rescue group took him out of an abusive situation.)
I imagine it’s like they’re in a spy movie.
“Your cover’s blown! Abort! Abort!” *runs away*
Hairy Potter isn’t too silly at all. 😀
I like it. I can picture Murphy hissing “Abort, abort” as she scampers off in terror.
As for Potter, I can’t even blame it on the previous owners. They had the papers, yes, but they had never registered him, so the silliness is all mine, I’m afraid. But all our animals have weird names, mostly due to Mark. Harry & Murphy are my fault, though. As a devoted Harry Dresden fan, I just couldn’t resist.
Oops…there goes Murph diving under the couch now. If I listen closely, I will probably hear her cancelling yet another mission.
😀
Ahh, that’s so cute. It’s amazing what animals can do in the face of such odds, isn’t it? I know someone with a three-legged dog that can easily outrun its younger, four-legged companion :L
It doesn’t seem to bother them in the slightest–they adapt and move on.
I bet they use it for guilt-trips, though. 😉
You’re going to move me out of your lap? How could you?
Of course, four-legged cats do that, too.