Barely four weeks old, Smokey arrived at our shelter last week missing his back left paw and weighing a mere 340 grams.

With a painfully open wound exposing skin and bone, the tiny stray was completely helpless.

The cause of Smokey's terrible injury is unclear – we’ll never know just whether he was born without his paw, or whether he lost it through a nasty accident.

Our skilled team of vets worked quickly and carefully to stitch up Smokey’s wound, placing the grey-and-white kitten under general anaesthetic.

Poor Smokey is so tiny that he won’t be ready for a necessary full leg amputation until he’s at least eight weeks old, and in the meantime he requires close attention in foster care from experienced RSPCA vet nurse Mimi.

Mimi says that poor Smokey screams in pain any time he hits his stump and will need constant care and monitoring until he’s old enough for amputation.

The sweet little kitten is currently being fed through a syringe, since the risk of him wandering through his food and infecting his injury is too great.  

But – despite his nasty wound, Mimi says Smokey is a little trooper who is remaining positive and beautiful to deal with during his care.

The longer Smokey receives specialised foster care and rehabilitation to treat his wound as he grows, the better his chances will be of making a full recovery – but this extensive care comes at a great cost to our charity.

Will you help darling little Smokey get the expert care and attention he desperately needs? We estimate the total cost of his treatment and recovery will be $2,100.

Can you please donate today to help give Smokey the best chance of recovering and finding the loving forever home he deserves?

* The goal for Smokey’s fundraiser includes surgery to treat his missing paw and remove his leg, as well as the ongoing costs of foster care, antibiotics, pain relief and rehabilitation. If his medical costs are less than is raised in his name, additional funds will provide care for other animals in need.

To read RSPCA South Australia's privacy policy please visit www.rspcasa.org.au/privacy-policy