Halifax cat needs costly surgery after surviving winter outside

Travis Malay was shocked when he got a phone call this week, telling him his cat was alive.

His cat, called Mel, had survived 10 months on her own in in one of the harshest winters in recent memory.

"I cried, I cried lots. It's really rough hearing that a cat an animal you really really love got really injured and survived the whole winter by herself," said Malay.

According toMalay, the indoor cat escaped from a downtown apartment window in July. After searching for months, Malay gave up hope. He says Mel must have bunkered down for the winter near the warmth of Nova Scotia Power's Water Street generators. Malay says something, perhaps a small explosion, severed Mel's two front paws.

"Her right paw is gone from the elbow down and the other one's up past the elbow, said Malay.

By the time Animal Control captured her this week, Mel's legs were infected. She was brought to the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic in Dartmouth, where information on her embedded micro chip led hospital workers to Malay. Malay told CBC News he's happy to have found her.

"I'm surprised. I'm glad that she's my cat. I'm quite proud of her, Malay said.

"I mean she's making do, and getting through it all and I hope that I can take the extra step to make sure she lives a long life."

In order to do that, Malay says, Mel needs a $3,000 surgery.

"Talking to the vets, they say that those two amputations have to be taken down even further to deal with the infections," he said.

Malay has startedcrowdfunding onlineto raise money for the surgery. The Metro Animal Emergency Clinic is also accepting donations on behalf of Malay. Hospital Manager Sandra MacLean says after the clinic posted Mel's story on its Facebook page, people started calling.

"The phone lines were kind of exploding with interest in Mel and wanting to help, which was good," MacLean said.

Travis Malay says he was also contacted by an engineer who wants to help create prosthetic limbs for the cat.

"He was mentioning using a 3D-printer and scanning her limbs and finding something that fit her well that she could use," Malay said.

Malay said he's hopeful Mel will make a full recovery and be able to return home after her surgery.