I am a three-year-old grey domestic short hair cat and earlier this year I was sadly hit by a car.

I used to often run across roads and I had never had any problem, but on this day maybe I was not quite as quick as I should have been. Anyway, getting hit by a car is a very nasty business, I can tell you, I was immediately knocked out and I have been suffering ever since.

As it happened, soon after the accident, when I was lying in the gutter, a kind woman found me and brought me into the Lort Smith Animal Hospital. That was so lucky for me because I was in a lot of pain and I could not have walked there on my own.

When I woke up, my back leg was gone. It had been amputated by the vets at Lort Smith. On top of that, my rear end was all shaved and I was a tapestry of stitches. I didn’t think I looked very handsome at all and I was feeling pretty sore and sorry for myself.

After a few days I was taken home by a very kind Lort Smith foster carer named Zerafina for my recovery. At Zerafina’s home I fluffed up a big cushion and concentrated on sleeping as much as I could.

I couldn’t walk at that stage, and even though I am a big cat, my meow was very weak. I would give Zerafina a tap on the leg when I was hungry or wanted a lap to sit on. She was so lovely to me. Getting used to having only three legs was painful and not easy. I was so sad about losing my leg.

The hair on my back started to grow back – but sadly my leg did not. It was very difficult to climb up on the couch. I’ll be honest, I did do some very undignified back-flips in those days while I was still getting used to having one leg missing.

As her job, Zerafina teaches children to play the guitar: in the early days the gentle strumming would put me to sleep. Then, sometimes I would wake up, when she and her students would laugh at my snoring. That was a bit embarrassing, but it was pretty loud snoring!

She says I have “stunning eyes” and a “soothing purr”. She also says I have a “divine personality”. She tells everyone who comes to the house to “be vigilant and don’t let Empire escape”. They don’t need to worry: I’m not going anywhere. I love living there.

I worried that I wasn’t a normal cat with just three legs. It was so awkward at first. But I’ve gradually adapted. I’m so grateful to the woman who originally took me to Lort Smith after the accident. There is no way I could’ve fixed myself up without help.

They say it takes a lot of money to make cats like me healthy again. If you can help, I know Lort Smith does a really great job and they would really appreciate your assistance.

I’ve met so many wonderful people since I lost my leg. There have been lots of trips back to Lort Smith Animal Hospital for check-ups. All the people there are so caring – they all really want to help as many animals as they can.

At home with Zerafina, I get plenty of cuddles every day and I spend lots of time napping in the sunshine. And now I can even jump up on the bed all by myself! I am so grateful to Lort Smith for giving me a second chance at life.

Please make a donation to Lort Smith. They never give up on an animal that can be saved.