Heather Barton

A long time ago I lived in a house, by myself (ah the luxury!) in Sunland, CA.  My neighbors were a family with 2 young kids who rented.  My sister was living with me and between us we had 3 inside/outside cats.  One day the neighbors came home with a kitten they found while hiking in Angeles National Forest.

They called her Rosie.. I called her Trouble.  She didn’t like us much but insisted in hanging at our house.  Probably because we didn’t have 2 small children!  So between the two houses we kind of shared the cat.  She had the softest fur and the  loudest purr.. but really hated it when you pet her!  She’d purr and growl at the same time.. it was hysterical.

One day just before Christmas I noticed Trouble in the neighbors yard limping.  I asked the neighbor what had happened and it was the first time he’d noticed that her leg had swelled to twice its size.  She’d obviously gotten into a fight with a car and come away with a broken leg.

They were desperate to fix her but had no funds.  So I found a vet (in Encino!) still open on Christmas weekend who’d see her.  Yes, she’d broken her leg.. just above the ankle joint and the joint had dropped down possibly slicing tendons.  He said he could do surgery for $1000.00 (now a days that would be $2500!) but there would be no guarantee she’d have use of the leg.

Like single me had that kind of money.  And I knew my neighbors didn’t.  Pragmatic me said, “How much to cut it off.. the leg?”    A cheap $500.00.  “Cut it off,” I told him.  It was her back leg… she was only 5 months old… she’d adjust.  I picked her up a few days later with instructions on how to care for her.

Her purr was never quite the same… but boy did she adjust.  First thing she did was try to get around and do all the stuff she used to do.  I laughed my ass off watching her jump and miss, time and time again.  I cringed and called the doctor when I realized she was pulling out the itchy stitches with her teeth.  He said that was fine… but it was torturous to watch!

The funniest part was when she went into heat and I had to take her to the vet to get fixed.  Apparently… when a vet fixes a female cat, they lay them on their back after the anesthesia and let their legs fall open to lean against these bars.  Trouble kept tipping over since she only had the one leg.  So the vet had to actually figure out a way to do a one legged cat.  As usual.. she was being a pain in the butt!

About a year after losing her leg she got into another fight with a car and this time she lost.   The neighbor handled any burial and we were both left with the fascinating story of our one-legged cat.  I remember her every time I hear someone tell me they spent tons of money curing their dog’s cancer.

It cures my desire to roll my eyes at them.