Fostering love for a kitten with broken leg

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The X-ray shows the fractured leg of a kitten that Poolville resident Kandyce Simpson wants to help. COURTESY PHOTO
The kitten with a fractured leg is shown sitting. COURTESY PHOTO

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December 6, 2012

Fostering love for a kitten with broken leg

Sally Sexton CNHI The Weatherford Democrat Thu Dec 06, 2012, 08:01 AM CST

PARKER COUNTY — For years, Kandyce Simpson’s life has been devoted to the fostering and care of animals. As the assistant neglect and abuse coordinator of the Bluebonnet Equine Society, Simpson heads up the Parker County area, serving in neglect or abuse cases for horses, donkeys, mules and ponies.

But that’s not all.

Dogs, cats and birds, in addition to horses, flock to Simpson’s property in Poolville, all of them rescues.

In just a few weeks, the Simpsons will have a new addition to the family, in the form of a 4-month-old black feline named Murray.

“He’s a sad little story, but he’s going to get a happy ending,” Simpson said.

Within her rescue networking, Simpson came across for Murray, who was picked up by the Fort Worth Animal Care and Control in late November.

“They picked him up the day before Thanksgiving and when they later evaluated him, they found out his leg was broken pretty badly,” she said. “Nothing was done for him, and they put him back in his cage in the cat kennels. I was surprised they would let him go with his leg like that, and if he had been put down, I would have thought there was nothing wrong with that choice.

“A broken leg sure would hurt, and it really bothered me that they would let him suffer like that.”

Murray was in the kennel for almost a week before the adoption listing caught Simpson’s eye.

“If you’ve been to our property, you’d know we’re quite full at our house,” she said of the animals. “So I kept watching in the hopes that another rescue would be willing to pick him up, but that didn’t happen.”

Simpson’s need to help continued, and Murray was adopted Thursday, one day before he was set to be euthanized.

Murray was taken to Simpson’s vet, Robert Rickords, of Rickords Animal Hospital in Fort Worth, and it was quickly determined that Murray’s leg was worse than originally thought.

“[Dr. Rickords] said the leg was completely shattered. It had been broken for awhile and he had probably tried to run on it,” Simpson said of the feline’s left back leg. “Because the bone has already started to mend, the ends aren’t going to match up because of the growth on both sides of the bone.”

Murray had two options — a re-break of the leg in the hopes that the bones would mend together or amputation. Simpson chose the amputation at the advice of the veterinarian.

Because Murray also contracted an upper respiratory infection while at the shelter, he is currently on antibiotics to clear up the problem before surgery can be done.

“He’s doing very well and he already sounds better,” Simpson said.

Murray’s care has been funded primarily by Simpson as well as donations. Anyone wishing to donate to Murray’s bill can donate online at www.rickordsanimalhospital.com or call 817-439-4443 and mention Murray Simpson.

While the feline still has a ways to go, Murray has already made his way into Simpson’s life as a permanent fixture.

“We’ve gotten really attached to the little guy,” she said. “If the right person came along and wanted to adopt him, I might entertain the idea, but I think Murray will end up staying at our house.”

Simpson is also expecting Murray’s transition from four legs to three to be a little easier, given his age.

“He’s not going to be able to go outside and do everything that other cats can do, but they’re pretty resilient, especially when they’re young,” she said.