Rescued from the Road – Kit’s Happy Tail
March 7th, 2025
By Savannah Verdon, Development Manager –
Learning to love and care for an animal can be such an important part of growing up, setting children up for a lifetime of treating others with kindness. When Bethany and her four children spotted a listless ball of orange fur on the road, she didn’t know they would learn a lesson in receiving the kindness of others, too.
The ball of fur lifted his head as their car passed but didn’t move to get up. Bethany turned the car around and parked, telling her kids to wait. She didn’t know what condition she would find the poor cat in, and didn’t want them to be traumatized by the sight of a severely injured animal. He was tiny, probably no older than two months, covered in fleas, and sticky with some kind of grease. His front right leg was strangely deformed with a swollen paw that smelled terrible. But he was alive and had lifted his head in their direction as if to say, “Will you be the one to save me?”
She carefully scooped him up and brought him back to the car and the four children waiting with baited breath to see what this creature was. Bethany didn’t want to name him in case the situation took a turn for the worse; her children had no such concerns. They named him Kit, and they insisted they go with Bethany to the veterinarian.
“My children have shown immediate interest in caring for the kitten, letting him rest. They have been to vet visits, and I’ve allowed them to discuss the situation with the vet. It is a kind of adult responsibility I’ve not seen them try to take before.”
That terrible smell Bethany noted when she rescued Kit was the scent of dying flesh. There was no blood flow to that paw, and his nail beds were beginning to ooze. With the leg itself likely to need extensive surgery that could leave Kit with lifelong pain, the veterinarian recommended that amputation would give him the best outcome. He was still so young and resilient, and he would adapt easily. After all, he had four new human friends to show him the way.
Bethany agreed that amputating the leg would be best for Kit, but her budget didn’t agree that it was something she could afford. The veterinarian was willing to start the surgery with a deposit to give her more time to gather enough money, an incredible relief knowing how much pain Kit must have been in. Because she lived paycheck to paycheck while raising four young and growing kids, she couldn’t gather enough money on her own. She had some left over from a line of credit, and her mother chipped in with what she could. Bethany was even selling personal items to make up the difference. She had no doubt her children would eagerly want to help raise money if she asked them, but it wasn’t their job to worry, only to stay close to Kit. It was time to count on the kindness of others.
A friend of Bethany’s told her about the RedRover Relief Urgent Care grant program, and our community’s FurEver Friends told her, “You can count on us.” With your recurring support, we could quickly approve Bethany’s application for help the same day Kit was scheduled to have his amputation surgery. The deformed leg and paw were removed without issue, while his four little private nurses carefully oversaw his recovery. From a forgotten, flea-ridden, sticky ball of fur to a three-legged, healthy, and completely adored kitten, kindness had rescued Kit in every sense of the word.
We are grateful not only for Happy Tails like Bethany and Kit’s but for our wonderfully generous FurEver Friends whose kindness saves lives. Thank you for being an irreplaceable part of RedRover’s compassionate community!
