A three-legged kitten who survived a ᴛᴇʀʀɪʙʟᴇ ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ has been paired with a perfect family. The kitten was named “Holly” by the animal shelter and was adopted by Matt and Simone Tipton; they have two children, including 2-year-old Scarlette.
Scarlette was born with a rare form of ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ that caused her left arm to be ᴀᴍᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ in October 2014 when she was 10 months old.
The sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ was a success, as the family has been informed that she is now ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ-free.
As Scarlette continued to recover, the Tiptons searched for the perfect family pet to aid her journey. “We really wanted to get her an animal she could get close to, something she could grow up with and feel like she had a special connection to,” says Simone Tipton.
The family was looking for a pet who also had an Aᴍᴘᴜᴛᴇᴇ when they heard Holly’s story.
Holly was found ʙʟᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ with her arm ᴅᴀɴɢʟɪɴɢ by two women in Perris on December 17. The women, Edith Rios and daughter-in-law Kelley Gonzalez, wrapped the 3-month-old kitten in a towel and hurriedly rushed it to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Park.
Veterinarians were able to care for the kitten but had to Aᴍᴘᴜᴛᴇᴇ its right front leg. Without the swift actions of Rios and Gonzalez, the Riverside County Department of Animal Services said Holly may have ᴅɪᴇᴅ.
The Department of Animal Services said it is not sure how the kitten was injured, but believes it got caught in the fan belt of a car engine while seeking warmth or was hit by a car near the Avenue intersection Wilson and Huckleberry Drive.
On Christmas Eve, the Tiptons visit a kitten who is still recovering from an Aᴍᴘᴜᴛᴇᴇ. Veterinarians say the kitten has come a long way since the sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ and on Wednesday the Tipton family officially adopted it.
While the shelter named the kitten Holly, the Tipton family said they will rename the kitten “Doc” after Scarlette’s favorite cartoon character “Doc McStuffins’ ‘.
“Doctor McStuffins, her favorite little cartoon on TV, and also because both the cat and she interacted a lot with the doctors,” says Matt Tipton.
The family calls Doc their “Christmas magic” and says they can’t wait to see Scarlette and Doc’s relationship develop day by day.