Bendy Legged Kitten Harvey Thrives in Foster Care

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Cats Protection UK Glasgow Branch took in a special needs kitten named Harvey shortly before Christmas last year when his owner decided to get rid of him and put him on Gumtree, a UK site equivalent to Craigslist, to sell him.  He was advertised as a 10 week old kitten who was ‘fine’ other than having two broken legs. Harvey did not have broken legs; he was born with an abnormality that bent his lower front legs the wrong way, like other kittens we’ve seen.

Harvey got quite a bit of press in January, including our post from January 22, Bendy Legged Kitten Harvey Gets Help. Cats Protection had opened a fundraiser page for Harvey’s care that easily met its £3,000 goal in a few days and ended up bringing in £4,597.58.

CP Glasgow wrote at the fundraising page in January:

He came before Xmas through “Gumtree” [a site like Craigslist] – advertised as “10 week old kitten with two broken legs but is fine and runs around like the rest…” We HAD to get him to make sure he was ok…Harvey has no front leg bone in the front part of his legs – it’s a birth deformity and although he is one of the most active, vocal, friendly and CUTEST kitten ever – he isn’t in any pain at the moment but he is certainly “not fine”.

At the time, Harvey’s vets and caregivers considered getting Harvey corrective surgery within a few months to put pins in both legs.  They were concerned that he might begin to experience pain from pressure on his neck and spine as he grew. That plan has changed to a wait and see approach, where Harvey goes to a vet school for a checkup every 6 weeks, and his bone growth is monitored. CP says Harvey’s doctors “are not keen to do anything yet until they know he is fully grown.”

Meanwhile, Harvey is thriving and is highly mobile, and enjoys a normal life with his fostermate Neo at the home of Liz McCulloch and her husband Drew.  The cats have a wonderful, safe garden space to frolic in and explore.  Liz and Drew have set up a special ‘Harvey zone’ in the garden with logs and steps for him to climb in safety, and wood chips to soften his landings.

Harvey remains a local celebrity, with regular updates showing up on the Cats Protection Glasgow Branch Facebook page.

SWNS news service released this video today showing Harvey playing in his garden.

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PART II: Buttercup, and Harvey’s Backstory

In April, Harvey got to meet his little sister Buttercup after his disturbing backstory came to light and Cats Protection confiscated her from the person who’d sold Harvey.

Cats Protection reported the  person who put Harvey on Gumtree without ever taking him to the vet to the SSPCA, which opened an invistigation and visited the person. The person told the SSPCA they would get Harvey’s mother spayed. They did not get the cat spayed, and it came to light that she was being bred, with her kittens being listed for sale at Gumtree for £200.

Cats Protection told Facebook followers, “We were distraught…in tears with concern for these kittens. We had to go see if they were alright – thankfully both of them [listed for sale at the time] were fine and had no signs of Harvey’s condition – the only thing they had was that there whiskers appear to have been cut off…yes…cut off…We HAD to take the female kitten for fear she may be bred again like her mother….her name is Buttercup…..HARVEY’S LITTLE SISTER (sort of!)……it’s beautiful to see as there is clearly a bond….but we never thought this would happen and it should never have happened…….. .”

Again, Cats Protection passed the information along to the SSPCA, but they did not feel confident that an investigation would go anywhere.  CP asked concerned animal lovers to sign a petition, Gumtree-Stop Allowing Pets For Sale.

Harvey showed great affection for little Buttercup, as can be seen in two sweet videos from April and May, respectively, shortly after Buttercup was taken into protection:

Karen Harrison Binette

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