I am so excited to finally be able to share this kitten’s story! Maury came to us in late February, and though he had quite a personality, there was something about him that drew our attention and concern – his tail!

Maury sustained a severe wound to his tail that left it mostly degloved (without skin) and severed with a vertebrae exposed at the tip. While he did not share his story with us, the injury he sustained did not dampen his spirit – Maury was a cheerful, playful kitten from the first moment I met him.

We provided Maury with a comfortable kennel with lots of soft bedding and good medication to relieve any pain he might be experiencing while we waited for an owner to come forward to claim this adorable little kitten. Yet no one came.

With no owner coming forward, we decided to go ahead and provide a surgical correction to his injury and let him find his forever home.

On March 3, 2014, Maury underwent general anesthesia and I amputated the majority of his remaining tail after neutering him. I tried to save as much of his tail as possible given how much of the normal skin was left. I was worried that the tissue would be so devitalized that it would become necrotic not long after the procedure. I left enough for him to have a cute little stub with the idea that, should the skin fail to heal properly, I could always perform the procedure again and make it a little shorter.

The procedure went smoothly and I watched over little Maury as he healed. He was in great spirits immediately after the procedure and didn’t seem to notice or miss his tail. As time went on, I watched as his tail scabbed over and appeared to be healing well.

Unfortunately, like many cats in a shelter environment, Maury started showing signs of Upper Respiratory Infection, or URI, and I moved him out of the medical treatment rooms and into the URI rooms.

While he was in there, the scab fell off his tail and I was excited to see the healthy pink skin was underneath. His hair was regrowing over his tail, slowly but surely, and he was looking better every day.

Just recently, Maury recovered from URI and has been placed in one of our community adoption rooms where he gets to be in a large room (with access to a cat-proofed outdoor area) with a variety of cat trees, toys, and other cats to play with.

I visited Maury in the community adoption room to get a final after photo & video, and he appears to be settling in quite well!

Come visit him yourself or take him home with you today! He’s eagerly looking for his forever home!

Check him out on YouTube below!

UPDATE: Maury found his forever home at the end of May 2014!