Back in late February, Shea, who is a 10-month-old domestic short haired cat, fell from a high-rise building in Manhattan, New York, and suffered seriously life-changing injuries.
Luckily, though, he was found on the street by a passerby who simply knew that he had to help the injured animal and immediately brought him to the ASPCA Animal Hospital in NYC.
Sadly, these kinds of injuries are all too common for cat owners, and the term high rise syndrome was coined to describe this phenomenon of cats falling from high rise buildings.
Shea suffered various injuries including, a split palate, broken lower jaw and hind leg fracture, along with a head injury that staff treated immediately with fluids and a feeding tube. The cat seemed quite determined to recover and already by the next day showed signs of improvement and had gotten a lot stronger.
However, his back leg did continue to cause him pain and didn’t look like it was going to heal, so veterinarians decided that amputation would be best, and they were proven right. Dr. Delfino, who is the veterinarian that worked on Shea described,
“He bounced back, used the litter box and ate well. It didn’t take him long to adjust to three legs”.
As soon as Shea was just strong enough to leave the hospital, he was then transferred to the ASPCA Adoption Center where he was put up for adoption and a short while later in March, he caught the eye of Miranda Jackson, who is a young dancer living in Manhattan.
She was absolutely charmed by the unique cat who refused to let his three legs get him down and knew that he was the cat for her. Jackson brought her brand new companion home and renamed the feline ‘Ichiro.’
She went on to describe just how the resilient cat has embraced his new life and quickly adapted to his home to the ASPCA: “He couldn’t jump on my bed, but he worked hard and now jumps as high as the kitchen counter”.
Shea doesn’t let his injuries slow him down in the least and is continuing to live his life to the full in how wonderful forever home. High rise syndrome is actually very frequent in cats and can result in fatal or life changing injuries.
In order to avoid this happening to your pet, you should be sure to place screens over any windows where their pet frequently spends time, ensure that all windows are properly sealed, and stay as vigilant as you can when the animal is sitting near a window or balcony.
Source: ASPCA │ h/t: holidogtimes.com
