Cher's Challenge - let's get Cher walking!

Cher is a 5 month old special-needs kitten in Louisiana, USA. The kitten was discovered by a rescuer doing TNR. The kitten could not stand up or walk, and the rescuer was told that the kitten had been attacked by a dog. The rescuer took the kitten home to temporarily foster her until a better place could be found. She named the kitten Cher.

Another rescuer agreed to take Cher in, and she was taken to a Vet where Cher was evaluated, had her spine and legs x-rayed, and was combo-tested (negative). There seems to be a misalignment of Cher's spine and a problem with her last 3 vertebrae. Apparently Cher's ribs were also injured, but had healed on their own. Cher can control her bowels and her bladder, and she is not paralyzed, as she has feeling and movement in both legs and feet!

The Vet said more advanced imagery could be done to determine if Cher is a candidate for surgery to attempt to restore use of her legs. Sometimes in these cases the spine can be “unstable”, in which case surgery has the risk of making the situation worse, but that may not be the case for Cher, since her spine seems “stable”. The Vet said Cher must have been in a lot of pain at one time, but believes she is not currently in any pain. Cher would benefit greatly from physical therapy, and may be a good candidate for a cart since she can move her legs.

Cher's rescuer was unable to find a special-needs rescue in the USA that had space to take Cher.  We here at Ivy's Rescue in Nova Scotia, Canada, saw a post about Miss Cher, and we've fallen in love with her indomitable spirit!  We're encouraged by the fact that she can move her legs, and we'd like to try to help get her walking again, if it is at all possible!  We've agreed to take Cher, and her kind rescuer is willing to do the transport all the way from Louisiana to Nova Scotia!  So now we're raising funds to assist with transportation costs, and also to help pay for further evaluation (and hopefully the successful treatment) of Cher's condition. If all goes well and Cher IS a candidate for surgery, we will likely increase our fundraising goal, but this will certainly be a great start! We would be exceptionally grateful for any and all donations toward "Cher's Challenge" of getting her walking!

You can also follow along on our rescue page at: www.facebook.com/IvysStory