Raven’s Recovery

January 13, 2021

No phrase is more familiar to our staff than ‘orphaned kittens’. Sadly, the eternal march of adorable, hand-sized fluff balls into our shelter is almost a daily occurrence during the annual kitten season.

Within this sea of cuteness, there is often a special kitty who has a story that tears at your heart-strings.

You might remember Raven, the poor kitty with a run of bad luck? The sad little darling came to us with an enormous abscess on her shoulder, which caused her to limp in pain.

In addition to her infected leg, Raven came down with a terrible case of cat flu, which strangely and endearingly made her ears droop.

Raven had a fight ahead of her 

Facing a myriad of health issues, our vet team decided that Raven should be fostered to RSPCA veterinary nurse Jodie.

After just a few days caring for Raven, Jodie noticed the kitten’s condition was worsening.

“I’d only had her for a couple of days when her shoulder became massively swollen,” said Jodie.

“Her initial abscess had become infected and started to eat away at her shoulder.

“We decided she had to have that leg removed for her own comfort.”

Jodie couldn’t get over Raven’s resilience 

“The day she had surgery and had her leg removed, I couldn’t believe it. That night when I brought her home she was still medicated from pain relief but she wanted to get up and move straight away,” said Jodie.

Despite her setbacks, Raven was determined to get better, amazing Jodie and the veterinary staff with the speed of her recovery.

“After surgery, that was it, there was no stopping her. She didn’t need a cone over her head because she left her stitches alone.

“She was finally pain-free and you could really start to see her personality come out then.”

The duo are now tied at the hip

“She’s such a beautiful cat and I couldn’t imagine life without her. She’s got these amazing coloured eyes, which are golden brown.”

After all they had been through, there was zero chance that Jodie was giving Raven up. The tiny fighter had also bonded with another foster-fail in the family.

“Around the same time I took Raven in I had another foster cat and the two bonded massively. The other cat bonded to my husband and Raven was bonded to me. At that point we knew we had to keep both of them,” said Jodie.

“So we are six to seven months down the track now and she’s living her life to the max – having three legs doesn’t stop her.”

Adventures afoot for this three-legged explorer

Despite only having three paws to walk on, Raven is determined to live a normal life – although Jodie admits sometimes she needs a leg up from mum.

“If she’s climbing on the furniture, she might get stuck somewhere and start meowing at you to come and help her down. I have saved her a few times while she’s hanging off a shelf,” said Jodie.

For the most part, Raven is able to traverse the indoor landscape by herself, thanks to Jodie’s handiwork, establishing some three-legged friendly cat runs.

“We’ve built bridges all over the house for the cats. So they have little walkways, gangways all around the rooms. We are just so happy to see her up and about.”


If you’re considering opening your heart and home to a rescued animal like Raven, head over
here to see all our animals currently available for adoption. A special thank-you to everyone who helped Raven get back on her three paws through her emergency fund!


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