Recuperation

Murry snuggles with his teddy bear as he recuperates from injuries he sustained after being thrown onto Route 9 near Chestnut Street recently. He was rescued by Jay Prestash of New Britain and brought to Veterinary Specialists of Connecticut in West Hartford.

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HERALD PHOTO by:

Dave Zajac

Article by: Caroline Porter

HERALD REPORTER

Thrown to highway, two legs broken, kitten keeps up his sweet disposition

NEW BRITAIN - Jay Prestash of Hazelmere Road is looking for donations to help pay for an extensive operation on an abandoned kitten he brought to Veterinary Specialists of Connecticut in West Hartfoed last week.

On Tuesday evening, Pretash was dropping off his friend and co-worker Gary Washburn near the intersection of Chestnut and Stanley streets after they worked as movers in New Canaan. Prestash said he heard a comotion, and Washburn climed down toward Route 9, and found a kitten, tan and white, about 14 weeks old. The cat had been injured after being thrown from a car on Route 9.

"He had trouble walking," said Prestash. "His face was scraped up. He was purring and licking us and everything. He certainly wasn't mean - tempered.

Prestash brought the kitten home and observed it with his 4 cats overnight. He saw the cat didn't walk properly, and feared it might be a form of feline leukemia. He took it to Veterinary Specialists and asked them to operate.

"I look at animal's life ... as important," said Prestash. "I don't think that because of money, he shouldn't get a chance at it. Perhaps we were in the right spot at the right time. We've helped or tried to help at least a dozen animals; most of them don't make it as a rule, If we've seen an animal hit by a car, we know where to take them."

Instead of leukemia, the veterinarian said two of the cat's legs were broken. "he has a front and back broken leg, both on the left side, (and) a dislocated jaw," said Grace Beckett of Veterinary Specialists. "He had some broken teeth, but they were baby teeth."

The cat was operated on Friday morning, and will rest at the animal hospital for two weeks. Prestash paid $300, a combination of his own and donated money, for the operation, and needs about $700 more. The cat was also neutered during the operation.

"The Nice thing is somebody at the vet's today ... said "Here's $75 toward his bill," said Prestash.

"I have a bunch of phone messages here, which is promising. Pretty much all of my friends and customers in the last 5 days have contributed."

Maria Battaglia, a veterinary technician at Veterinary Specialists of Connecticut in West Hartford, holds Murray, a kitten who was rescued by Jay Prestash of Hazelmere Road after being thrown onto Route 9 near Chestnut Street last week.

Veterinary Specialists and Prestash are looking for people to adopt the cat, named Murray. "I've not seen animals with that kind of brutality, not intentionally," said Beckett.

"This was an intentional brutal act. It's so hard to imagine someone could do that. We've had so much interest in this kitty. It would be nice if all the kitties who were mistreated got this attention."

For more information. call Prestash at: (860) 223-3142

Article reprinted from:

THE HERALD

August 17th, 1999