One-Pound Kitten Who Lost a Leg After His Rescue, Gains a Family in Recovery

Pelota gained a pound a week after he was rescued by Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles

Published on October 22, 2019 04:52 PM

3-legged cat gets new start — Photo: Courtesy Best Friends Animal Society

Pelota is back on three paws and doing better than ever.

The kitten arrived at Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles earlier this year weighing just a pound. Along with being underweight, the little cat also had a serious injury, one of his back legs was fractured in multiple places.

The rescue’s resident surgeon made the difficult decision to amputate Pelota’s leg so the kitten had a better chance of recovering from his injuries and the dangerous infection he had in his fractured leg. It only took Pelota two days to recover from the operation and show the rescue that he was a friendly little guy with a big appetite.

According to Arlette Keyes, a member of the rescue’s vet team that treated Pelota, the kitten started to put on a pound a week after arriving at Best Friends and quickly adapted to life with three legs. The spunky cat has no trouble getting around and is just as fast as his four-legged friends at the rescue. He is also living up to his name. Pelota means ball in Spanish, and feline Pelota loves to spend his days batting around toy balls.

After several weeks of TLC, soccer practice and good eating at Best Friends, Pelota went searching for a forever home. Not surprisingly, the sweet, strong kitten found his pet parents pretty fast. The kitten was adopted by a California couple at a Best Friends Adoption event and will spend the rest of his day knowing nothing but love.