Once upon a time, an EMT found a little black cat in East St. Louis while on a call. The cat had a broken leg that was infected and sore from dragging it. Unsure how to help or what to do, the EMT started making calls.
Tenth Life Cat Rescue was able to swoop in and get her in for surgery, but her leg had severe nerve damage and had to be amputated.
Despite the amputation, the kitty was quick to earn the name “Goose” at Tenth Life because of her happy and silly-goose nature.
Jordan Krebsbach and her partner, Cydney Lucio, discovered Tenth Life on Facebook because they bring foster pets to events to garner attention. In this case, it was the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market.
“The first cat we saw was Goose,” Krebsbach recalls. “She had just come in and was super sick. She was staying with her foster mom for a few months, and we had been seeing updates about her.”
Krebsbach says she and Lucio filled out an application to be Goose’s family, and they ended up being good friends with her foster mom. The process took a few months, since Tenth Life does vet checks and comes to houses to make sure they’re suitable for adoptive cats.
“We were second in line to be Goose’s parents,” Krebsbach says. “[The first people in line] went to meet her and [Goose] wouldn’t come out from under the couch. She was terrified.”
When the first family ended up backing out, Krebsbach and Lucio went to go meet her.
“She was still scared, but we just laid on the floor and petted her,” Krebsbach says. “We were probably there three hours. By the end, she was purring and happy and playing. We knew she needed more time, since she’d been through so much already.”
May 31 marked Goose’s “Gotcha Day,” which Krebsbach and Lucio fondly call her “Goose-iversary.” They’ve had her one year and a few weeks now, and they estimate she’s about two years old.
Goose is an odd little duck, since when her right leg was amputated, her shoulder had to be amputated as well. Lucio says she’s “oddly buff for a three-legged cat” and that she’s more agile than their other pets who have all their limbs. Lucio also notes how weird she is, and that she makes bird noises and has her tongue out a lot.
“We always say she’s way too good for us, and we don’t deserve her,” Krebsbach says with a laugh. “She’s so sweet and loving. She sits on top of her cat-tree throne and delegates like she’s queen of the house.”
This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.
Robyn Elizabeth Dexter 