Hiro

Hiro is one of the many cats that comes to visit my backyard. But unlike many of the backyard kitties, Hiro is a stray. And although the photo below doesn't show it, one of his back legs is mangled.

He's willing to sit quite close to me when eating, but if I so much as twitch a muscle, he gets ready to run.
There is a covered trap not inches away from him when this photo was taken. But no matter what kind of tempting yummies I put inside, he avoids it like the plague.

Whatever happened to his leg, obviously happened some time ago as there is no visible wound. The leg itself is bent upwards along his body and is considerably smaller than his other hind leg, adding to my suspicion that whatever happened, it was when he was much younger. It might even have been deformed at birth.

I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to trap him for about a month now as his overall health is taking a turn for the worse. I suspect he may have full blown FeLV based on the fact that he is constantly sick and the lymph nodes in his neck are obviously very distended and are different sizes.

The last few weeks have seen quite a lot of heavy, flash flood type rainfall here in Montreal, and the lane that runs behind my house is so flooded, it's practically a river. In a normal week, there are upwards of 16 kitties that take turns hanging out in my backyard (most are family pets), but over the last few weeks, there's been almost no one. And although Hiro was starting to make daily appearances prior to the rain, I hadn't seen him at all in over 3 weeks. Given that he is in such rough shape, I feared the worst.

But thankfully, he's still with us. He showed up on my back porch tonight, desperately hungry and a little skinnier than I'm used to seeing him, but still fighting to survive. I have promised him that I will do everything in my power to help him. After all, he is my little hero.

UPDATE:
Synchronicity, thy name is .....
By amazing coincidence, another kind soul contacted C4P early this morning about a cat matching Hiro's description. Turns out she has worked with C4P in the past. As if that's not coincidental enough, it turns out we're on the same block & her back yard faces the very same lane way mine does! It's definitely my wee Hiro! She has also been feeding him, and is working to try to trap him as well.
I am so ecstatic to have a partner in crime for helping poor Hiro, I'm almost at a loss for words. Looks like the universe listened to my heart felt promise last night. More as develops!