Kitten with birth defect living his best life thanks to Collier County shelter employees

Collier County Domestic Animal Services takes in close to 300 strays a month, and with so many cats coming in recently, they’re pushing capacity.

To the employees, every animal is special and deserves a good home, but they’re making sure one cat in particular gets to live his best life.

Wally, named so because he “walks like a walrus,” is a small, determined kitten that proves you don’t need every leg to work to move full speed ahead.

“Wally came to us about a month and a half ago. He was just a little more than a pound. He obviously had something wrong with his rear legs so we sent him for some radiographs and they pretty much said there’s no injury, it’s just a birth defect,” said Danielle Somerville, foster animal coordinator.

Wally, found in Immokalee, is one of the many strays at the shelter.

“I kinda save myself for the special cases or the ones that are a little more difficult, but I took one look at him and kinda fell in love with him.”

So did employees. So much so, one even built Wally a set of wheels.

“My son decided to take apart his monster truck and donate it to Wally. Unfortunately, when he built them, he was so small that the wheels were just way too big for him.”

So the shelter pushed “paws” on the project, realizing Wally “has no idea that he’s not supposed to be that way. He’s a perfectly well-adapted kitten, he’s strong, he’s not really scared of anything.”

A shelter cat with some real purr-severance, hoping for a new home soon.

If you’re interested in adopting a pet from the CCDAS shelter, click here to see available animals and to fill out an application.