SPCA New Zealand

Meet Bucky - SPCA's miracle kitten!

06 November 2019
Meet Bucky - SPCA's miracle kitten!

Here at SPCA we have dozens of animals come through our doors each day. Our ‘before and after’ stories share the tales of animals who have come into our care, often fighting for their lives, and made a miraculous recovery. This is Bucky’s story.

Bucky was a kitten clinging to life on the side of a busy Wellington street when Jessica Pullen first found him.

He’d been hit by a car and was in a terrible way. While everyone else drove away, Jessica and her partner Walden stopped and rushed to Bucky.

“He was just lying there trying to lick himself. It was horrible,” Jessica said.

He was brought immediately to SPCA’s Wellington Centre by an SPCA Inspector where the extent of his injuries was revealed.

“SPCA didn’t think he was going to make it,” Jessica said.

While Bucky miraculously had no broken bones, his paw pads and nails were completely torn, and his hind leg had been completely degloved - all the skin was removed, and his tendons and ligaments were completely visible.

“We were thinking there was no way a kitten could survive that. But he did,” Jessica says.

Recovery

Not only did he survive the impact of a car crash, Bucky also coped with ten weeks of veterinary care, foster care, and recovery. He endured a leg amputation, x-rays, two weeks in an incubator, multiple bandage changes, and antibiotics.

Jessica visited Bucky at SPCA every few days and a few weeks later, Bucky went to Jessica and Walden’s home to recover in foster care and receive ongoing medication.

“We would give him a treat after he had his medication. It got to the point that he knew what time it was to have his meds and he would be ready and waiting, excited for his treats,” she laughs.

“I think what really got us, was that even though he had been through so much, and his first interactions with people were so horrific, he is so loving.”

“He is just the cuddliest cat in the entire world and just constantly needs attention,” she exclaims.

A cool cat

After nursing Bucky back to health and developing such a strong bond, Jessica couldn’t bear for him to go back to SPCA to find another family.

So she signed the adoption papers and made it official! Now Bucky owns the house.

“Every day when we come home from work, he sits at the top of the stairwell and waits for us to walk up the stairs. When he hears the car come in, he runs to the window.”

“He is such a cool little cat and we are so happy to have him in our family.”

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