After being hit by a car, Portia was on her last legs (literally). Now adopted by her foster carer, Portia's story is an important reminder to keep our cats happy and safe at home.
Life is never easy for stray animals such as Portia. She came to us via our animal ambulance at only nine months old after being hit by a car.
Aside from obvious physical injuries, Portia was suffering from anxiety and was incredibly scared of people, making it difficult for the vet care team to assess and treat her. Both her front legs were injured and she also had some minor head trauma. On top of this, she was underweight and had a damaged microchip, so we were unable to track down her previous owners.
Portia stayed in RSPCA care for a couple of weeks, with our vets and volunteers giving her as much attention as she would accept. She remained flighty and timid, refusing to come close to people.
Portia lost her leg but gained a home
When she walked, Portia would drag her front right leg across the ground and appeared to be in constant pain. After monitoring her injuries, the vet team decided that the best action to improve Portia's quality of life was to amputate the leg.
Post surgery, Portia went into the foster care with RSPCA volunteer Lisa.
"We already had a packed house when Portia came," Lisa recalls.
"We had a mother cat and her five kittens, as well as two other cats named Zac and Onyx.
"The poor girl needed a little space, so we converted our home office into her own private room."
Although Portia was very timid, Lisa and her family were able to make progress in building up her confidence. She gradually accepted gentle pats from Lisa and would even purr every now and then. Portia also grew more confident around other people and let Lisa's daughter feed her with a spoon. After some time, Portia was able to meet her foster brother Onyx for the first time and they hit it off immediately.
Getting a scaredy-cat to come out of her shell
By the time Portia was ready to go up for adoption, Lisa had decided her three-legged cat wasn't going anywhere.
"We decided to adopt Portia because we feared she would go backwards in a new environment and we did not want her to go through any more trauma," shares Lisa. "It took her months to come out of hiding. We are still unable to hold her but we can pat her."
While Portia is still quite timid around humans, she has a new best friend in one of Lisa's other rescue cats, Zac. "She's always by his side. They groom each other and you can't tell she's at peace with him," said Lisa.
"Portia is a lovely cat who continues to develop her trust in us. Last night, she slept at the foot of my bed which is a massive step for her. It has been a very rewarding process teaching Portia to trust us and to slowly build a bond with her."
Helping our cats keep their nine lives
Portia's brush with death is a sobering but all too common example of why it's important to keep cats safely contained to their owners' properties. One of the keys to keeping your cat safely contained is to arrange suitable entertainment for them within the comfort of your home. As cats are naturally curious, providing them with different climbing structures, enrichment activities and cat-friendly toys will keep them happy indoors and satisfy their desire to explore.
If you need more tips on how to keep your cat safe and happy at home, the RSPCA has put together a helpful guide that should answer all your questions.
