Rescued from death, kitten is still a mystery

A vet said despite its troubles, the kitten seems to have a good disposition.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- A stray kitten being treated for burns at Angels for Animals owes its life to a Good Samaritan and fast-food chicken nuggets.
Dr. Kim Hanley, Angels for Animals full-time veterinarian, has been treating a 5-month-old orange tiger kitten for about three weeks.
Hanley treated Andrae with antibiotics and fluids, and a special silver cream for burns. Dr. John Owen of Animal Charity donated pain medication.
Hanley said several people have made cash donations to Angels for Animals on Andrae's behalf.
"He purrs a lot and really enjoys eating," Hanley said. "We're going to give him booster shots and neuter him next week. Then he will be available for adoption to a good home."
Hanley said Heather Taylor of Western Reserve Road found the kitten March 1 in the parking lot of Western Reserve Middle School and brought him to Angels for Animals.
Hanley said police and area firefighters investigated but said there was no house fire in the area in late February. Hanley thinks that the kitten escaped from some type of fire and wasn't a victim of abuse.
Kitty's injuries
All of the kitten's paw pads were burned, his ears and nose were singed, and one eye was closed because of burns.
Hanley has experience with cats that have been burned because of animal cruelty. She did her internship at the American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals in New York City and adopted a cat that recovered from severe burns.
Her pet, Libby, now 4 years old, has no fur on her head and no ears.
Hanley said the pattern of burns on the kitten that she and other shelter vets christened Andrae is not consistent with abuse.
Intentional burns to a cat are usually on its head and down its back. Andrae's burns indicate he was in a fire, perhaps a trash or brush fire, and fought to get out, she said.
After three weeks of treatment at Angels for Animals, Andrae has gained 2 pounds, and the burns are healing. His feet are almost healed, and the burned eye is now open. He has no hair on his nose or around his eyes and will lose the tips of his ears, Hanley said.
How he was named
"He still remains a mystery," she said. "That's why we called him Andrae, after a character on the reality show 'Runway.' One of the designers is named Andrae, and they are always saying, 'What happened to Andrae?' We don't know what happened to this kitten, so we thought Andrae was a good name."
Hanley said despite all he has been through, Andrae seems to have a good disposition.
"He's still a little frightened, but he's doing really well," Hanley said. "He's doubled his weight in three weeks."
Hanley said when Andrae came to Angels for Animals, she and other staff were in the middle of the busiest day of the week at the shelter's clinic, one in which they usually spay or neuter about 70 cats.
She did not think Andrae would survive.
"I looked in the box he came in, and he looked so bad," Hanley said. "But as hurt and as weak as he was, he was trying to eat. There was a chicken nugget in the box, and he was using all the strength he had to try to eat it. I figured if he worked that hard to eat, sick as he was, he was a fighter."