Dr. Jen was told that this little fella (who was born in the fall of 2014) was living under a community pool deck at an apartment complex in Byron Center, and the residents loved him as he kept the rodents away. However, no one opted to bring him indoors, and at some point this poor creature ended up with his left front paw in a wild animal trap that was hidden away in his hiding place.

Although the residents quickly noticed his perilous predicament, they couldn’t catch him as he darted out of arm’s reach; he was in terrible pain and frightened out of his mind. They were able to loosen the trap from the deck, but sadly not his foot, and off he ran with it still attached; no one saw him again for about a month.

When he hobbled on back and they caught sight of him again, he was obviously on three legs—and the bones of his foot were sticking out of the paw that had lost all of its toes. One of the concerned apartment dwellers took him in and contacted Dr. Jen through the vet clinic, and she had her bring him right down so she could assess the damage. Needless to say, there wasn’t much left that could be salvaged, but Dr. Jen was able to take him to surgery, remove the desiccated and devitalized metacarpal fragments, treat the infection present and bandage him up so that he could heal (with narcotics on board).

Suffice it to say that Basil was more than ecstatic to finally be indoors, safe and sound, cozy and warm, and get this—free from pain and the metal mess that massacred his precious little paw. He simply couldn’t get enough attention from Dr. Jen and the staff while he recuperated, but Dr. Jen didn’t think it would be wise to send him down to Crash’s with an open wound site (she couldn’t safely close it for risk of deep-seated infection developing).

Dr. Jen took him on home for the next four weeks, until he had received his second set of vaccines and was fully up and running. He was a bit out of his element at first, but he took a quick liking to Dr. Jen’s nine cats and found her Basset hound to be very interesting, although he preferred to keep a safe distance away from the dog.

Over time Basil’s confidence rose, but his mobility was never in question as he was tackling the stairs, furniture and even counter tops from the get-go; nothing stands in this beautiful boy’s way when kitty croutons are being offered! It was an absolute delight watching him grow stronger and become more assertive, claiming the windows as his favorite bird-watching perches and tackling the motorized cat toys with dexterity and determination. He wasn’t a lap cat by nature but when picked up and held close, he would melt into our arms and purr the sweetest of melodies.

Dr. Jen knew transferring Basil to Crash’s would be a bit challenging, but she needn’t have worried. Here is what our cat care director had to say about the marvelous Mr. Wrathbone and his new life as a free-roaming shelter kitty:

“Basil has absolutely no problem getting around the shelter. He’s a bit of a work in process—he spends most of his time sleeping up on the cat walks, but when it’s quiet he does come down and ask for attention. He has great potential to make an awesome cat though, so I am sure he will come out of his shell soon. He LOVES other cats! He is almost always snuggling with someone, so I feel that he should go into a home that has a cat that will snuggle up with him. He’s a little quiet and easily started, so probably no children or active dogs.”