The kitten soon became known as Trooper, and Sara quickly realized that he was something special. Trooper had an incredible personality; he was very friendly and loved to be around people. As a result, the other cats at the rescue began to look up to him as their leader.
Trooper’s resilience in the face of difficult circumstances amazed everyone who knew him. Despite being orphaned and homeless at such a young age, Trooper never lost his sunny disposition or loving nature. In fact, it was this sweet disposition that helped him find his forever home with command sergeant major Chris Willoughby and his wife Heather last year.
As you can see from the photo, Leroy was born without a sternum. This means that he doesn’t have ribs on his chest and therefore cannot breathe like other cats do. As a result, whenever Leroy purrs or makes any noise at all, he actually sucks in air to create those vibrations!
The Community Cat Club in South Carolina is a no-kill shelter that helps cats get adopted into loving homes.
Pectus excavatum (PE) is a congenital abnormality of the chest wall in which portions of the ribcage and sternum are depressed. It occurs in 1 out of every 600-1,000 live births and is more common in males than females. Affected animals may have difficulty breathing, due to poor air exchange within the lungs, and can become weak or even die from heart failure if left untreated.
The cause of PE is unknown but may be related to chromosomal abnormalities or problems with development while still in utero. There is no cure for pectus excavatum, but surgical correction may be recommended for severe cases. Treatment involves breaking the ribs on either side of the depression and then pushing them back into their correct position. This surgery can be expensive and risky, so it should only be performed by a qualified veterinary surgeon experienced in this procedure.
Thanks to the surgery, Leroy is now able to breathe properly and his heart functions normally. His foster mom reports that he has gained weight steadily since the surgery and is a very active kitten!
Since his story went viral, Leroy has been adopted by an amazing family that loves him very much.
A few months later, Leroy had a veterinary check-up and was found to be in excellent health. When the veterinarian examined him, she could find no evidence of his previous heart condition. Sara suspected that the love and attention he received from her—and the other cats in their household—played a role in his miraculous recovery. She was glad she’d taken a chance on adopting him.
Noodle is currently being fostered by an animal lover in Seattle.
