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The solid white cat was found on the side of the road, more dead than alive.
The man who found him, while walking his dog along a Daly City road in late February, at first didn’t even realize it was an animal.
The cat appeared to have been struck by a car. He was in shock, had a fractured jaw, busted lip and damaged right eye and was bleeding from the mouth.
The cat was brought to the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA in Burlingame, where his rescuers didn’t expect him to live through the night.
After emergency surgery to wire his jaw back together and repair his lower lip, the cat surprised everyone by pulling through.
“He was such a fighter, our staff named him Toa, which means ‘warrior’ in Maori,” said Buffy Martin Tarbox, communications manager at the rescue and shelter.
Because his jaw was wired shut, Toa needed a feeding tube. He continued to improve over the next few weeks and began to eat on his own, albeit very gingerly. After the wires were removed from his reconstructed jaw, surgeons worked on his damaged right eye.
No one turned up to claim Toa, and he had no identification. When he was well enough, he was placed in foster care to gain strength and reenter the cat world. After all these weeks, he’s now ready to be adopted.
Despite everything he’s been through, Tarbox says, Toa is an affectionate cat.
“Even though the cat was suffering from life-threatening and painful injuries, he would still purr and knead,” Tarbox said. “Although Toa looks like a battle-scarred cat, he is very sweet and friendly. He’s been through a lot and we want to find him a new home where he will be safe and loved.”
Toa has been vaccinated and micro-chipped; he was already neutered. His adoption fee is $80, and anyone interested in taking this survivor home can meet him at the adoption center, 1450 Rollins Road, Burlingame.
