She was the runt of her litter and walked a bit different, but this little kitty never let anything slow her down.
Meet Roo Russ!
Little Roo and her two siblings came to the shelter in late April 2016. Right away they noticed something different about her. “She was considerably smaller than her siblings and the staff at the shelter noticed she was walking weird,” Marnie russ told us.
They discovered that the tiny kitten was born without elbow joints. Marnie, who is specialized in caring for special needs, neonates and critical care kittens, took the miniature kitten home to foster, but as soon as they met, she fell in love.
Little Roo doesn’t let her disability stop her. In fact, she never thinks she’s any different. The tiny fluff ball has learned to use her hind legs to aid in her walk.
They set her up on therapy treatments to help her as she grew.
Roo was just as playful and mischievous as any other kitten. “Her disability has not held her back from breaking things.”
Roo doesn’t have joints in her elbows, but she can use her front legs just fine especially when she gives her human a big hug.
Having her favorite snack.
Needless to say, Roo stole Marnie’s heart on the day they met. The sweet kitty never left her foster home. They made her a permanent part of the family.
“She has learned to use her front legs like a normal kitty would, so if you didn’t know her story you wouldn’t think anything was wrong with her, except when she walks she is shorter in the front.”
“Roo is actually really small – barely five pounds but she is so fluffy people tend to think she is really big,” Marnie told us.
She loves every single person that she meets. Roo adores her canine buddy Skeeter the dog and wants to be with the rescue babies whenever Marnie brings home new fosters. She seems to understand them and shows them the same love that she received when she was rescued.
“Her purr is so massive and all you have to do is look at her and she starts to purr.”
Eight months later, Roo has blossomed into a gorgeous fluffy gal.
Roo is an incredible little kitty who has a caring and loving heart. “She has been successful in helping raise thousands of dollars for the organization that helped save her, the National Kitten Coalition,” Marnie told us.
“She is so great at giving back and she doesn’t even know it!”
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