Meet Lil’ Bunny Sue Roux, better known as Roux to her friends. Roux was born with a rare condition called transverse terminal hemimelia. Her X-rays show that her front legs stop at the humerus, the upper bone of the front leg. She was recently adopted by Jackie Deak Akey from an animal rescue centre where her previous family had left her as they decided they couldn’t cope with her disability.
The vets believe that she is not in pain, although there is a potential for back problems as she gets older because she moves differently to other cat, but she has good mobility and functions well without her front legs. There is thought of having prosthetics in the future, but for now her mobility is good as her back legs are strong and she can jump impressively high.
Jackie, who adopted Roux, talks about her daily routine: “Roux wakes me up every morning with what I call her alarm-meow from the foot of the bed. Then she alternates napping and playing throughout the day with two older four-legged cat sisters, Kona and Graybee. The girls spread their toys all over the house during the day. Later, her meows announcing dinnertime are very loud, and she is quite the voracious eater. After dinner she takes a long bath and usually has a few bursts of playful energy before bedtime. As her day comes to a close, I either carry her or she jumps onto our bed herself to snuggle and curl up to sleep.”
Roux has a very large following online, over 30,000 on Instagram, but she still remains humble and sweet. Jackie stresses: “Please adopt! There are so many wonderful cats in animal shelters that need loving homes. And certainly don’t overlook the special needs kitties! We are so grateful little Roux is in our lives.”
