Every life saved is a success story. Here are some highlights to inspire you.
Meet Angelina & Chelsea
THIS IS A LOVE STORY
Angelina came to United Paws on July 2 as a rescue from a hoarding situation. She weighed less than a pound, was quite sick with an upper respiratory infection, and unable to use her back legs even though she had feeling and limited movement. Angelina’s situation looked iffy. United Paws first got her help with the infection, but was uncertain about her future. Vets couldn’t determine what caused the injury to her back legs but believed she could learn to use her legs again.
As she began to feel better, Angelina got more active and tried desperately to use her back legs to keep up with the other kittens, but it was difficult. Then an amazing Foster Volunteer, Chelsea Porter, eagerly stepped up to foster Angelina and work with her daily to regain strength in her back legs. At first, Angelina dragged her hind legs to get around and could not squat to go potty. But slowly, she began to have more control with Chelsea’s daily exercises & encouragement. Within a month, Angelina could go potty much easier, without getting a mess all over her. Now, she can squat and hold herself up long enough. Angelina also gained more than a pound in just one month.
As of mid-August, Angelina can now run and pounce with all her kitten energy. She even climbed up the couch, her Mt. Everest, to join foster brother, Blue. Chelsea made a delightful Instagram reel on her progress. (See video below.)
Angelina has become an integral part of her foster family, and loves the family dogs, Bronco & Barkley, and of course, Blue. Her foster grandpa bought Angelina a special animal stroller so she can go for walks in the neighborhood with Chelsea and the dogs.
Angelina has made great progress as evidenced by the videos, and United Paws gets regular updates from Chelsea on this special little kitten with her mighty spirit & determination to have a full life. We asked Chelsea to share her thoughts on how fostering Angelina has affected her life. This is what Chelsea wrote:
“Fostering Angelina has really been such a life changing experience. I’ve told my husband she has changed my life since we’ve had her. When I first brought Angelina home, she was so tiny and fragile, and I could tell she was so ready to feel better.
I’ve watched Angelina gain back her strength every day, from the first time she could fully stand all the way to her running, pouncing, climbing and gaining a ton of confidence within herself. Watching her change day by day has been overwhelming in the best way!
Angelina can do all of this because we were lucky enough to be able to give her a safe place to land. We cheer her on, and it’s given us both a sense of accomplishment. She has made me want to be more resilient, confident, and I’ve thought to myself “if she can do these hard things, so can I.
Angelina has such a good attitude and it’s endearing. There is nothing like bonding with a kitten/cat because I truly feel like you have to earn it. This special kitty has taught me patience, how to trust my gut, when to push, and when to just relax. I’m so proud of Angelina!“
Update from our friend Chelsea in January 2025:
“Angelina came on vacation with us this last weekend and she did this all on her own 😭 she also had her most recent checkup to get new flea meds and got a pretty good bill of health! The vet doesn’t think neurologically her little back toes on the right leg will ever be “normal” but she is a normal weight (even though she’s in general pretty little) and has good all around muscle mass even in the “bad” leg, we’re going to continue her PT to keep up the muscle and she’ll be getting spayed beginning of March ☺️
Hope you’re doing well! And as always thank you so much for trusting me with Angelina, she is such a blessing to us.”