Cocoa, a three-legged kitten, needs medical help

PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- Her name is Cocoa, but this sweet kitten needs more than just lots of love.

She needs a helping hand to help with medical care.

"She's just this really incredible little kitten, she just has this gust to live, to play, to be happy," said Jodi Polanski with Lost Our Home Pet Rescue.

Someone found the kitten abandoned in a cardboard box, without food or water and in the Arizona heat, back in August. Cocoa had a respiratory infection, along with a secondary eye infections, but then, doctors discovered she also had a rare congenital birth defect that left her hind legs backwards and crisscrossed at the ankle joint.

"It's been a really hard journey for her," said Polanski. "Like, nothing for her has been easy, no matter what we try for her."

Doctors performed surgery, but due to complications, a portion of Cocoa's foot had to be amputated, and she still has many medical needs ahead of her.

"I've never seen a little kitten go through so much," said Polanski.

The shelter is asking cat lovers to help by donating to help with the additional cost, including having a prosthetic "Kitty Slipper" made, so Cocoa can walk on her partial foot.

Fundraiser: Help Cocoa the 3-legged cat walk without pain
cuddly.com/donate/2956451/cocoa
LostOurHome.org