Spencer Ronald was only five weeks old when he was found outside a nursing home in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

He had been living on the streets – with no one to look out for him.

A kind person found him and immediately took Spencer Ronald to a local vet where it was discovered he was in extremely rough shape.

Knowing Lort Smith would be his best chance at survival, he was brought to our Animal Hospital in North Melbourne.

Upon initial examination, the Lort Smith team could see he had a badly damaged leg that was bruised, swollen and very sore. Poor Spencer Ronald had multiple suspected bite wounds that were raw and painful.

In addition to all this the darling kitten was showing signs of cat flu.

The team organised for x-rays to get a clearer picture of what they were dealing with. Sadly they discovered that Spencer Ronald’s left hind leg had an open tibial fracture and dislocated hip.

Spencer Ronald’s leg was in terrible shape. So in the kitten’s best interests, it was decided that his leg would need to be amputated.

The operation was successful and soon enough, Spencer Ronald was up and about eating by himself – he was particularly partial to Hill’s Science Diet kibble for kittens – chicken flavour!

As a not-for-profit organisation, Lort Smith reinvests all funds to support animals and people of lesser means. Providing food for all animals who walk through our door is expensive. However, thanks to a longstanding relationship with Hill’s Pet Nutrition, this financial load is lightened significantly. Hill’s provide food for all of our Adoption Centre cat and dog residents.

While Spencer Ronald was slowly building up his strength, the team confirmed he was suffering with cat flu.

This highly contagious upper respiratory disease produces similar symptoms in cats as we humans experience when we catch a cold.

Spencer Ronald’s symptoms – sneezing, discharge from his eyes and nose – required the team to quarantine him to ensure he would not infect any other cats. As soon as the vets were happy, Spencer Ronald was transferred into foster care with animal welfare officer Jo, where he would spend the next three weeks relaxing, rehabilitating and getting plenty of love and attention!

While in foster care all of his food continued to be provided by Hill’s Pet Nutrition through their generous food sponsorship program.

When first arriving in foster care, Jo noticed little Spencer Ronald was trying to get to his surgery site. Normally these cases call for the cone of shame!

However, Jo felt Spencer Ronald needed a little more freedom to help his recovery from both his operation and his illness. Jo fashioned a cover for his surgical site to keep it safe – success!

“I made a sock jumper for Spencer Ronald to try to stop him from getting at his surgery site. However he learnt how to take it off. In saying that he looked pretty flippin’ cute with it on!” said Jo.

This provided Spencer Ronald with the extra comfort to be able to rest and recover in ultimate comfort.

After several weeks, Spencer Ronald had fully recovered! He had his desexing operation, and in July he was officially adopted by a dedicated family.

The generous corporate relationship Lort Smith has with Hill’s Pet Nutrition helps reduce the cost of caring for cats and dogs that have no family to care for them. It helps Lort Smith allocate its resources to maximise the support it provides to animals and people of lesser means.