THE owners of a cat left at the roadside following a hit-and-run incident on the old A30 have launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for urgent surgical treatment.

Sanza was discovered near Shortlanesend by a passer-by, who stopped in traffic to scoop him up and rush him to Highertown Vets in Truro. There he was found to have sustained serious injuries including a dislocated hip and a broken femur.

Enabling him to walk again and live a pain-free will entail veterinary bills of £3,500, which are beyond the means of owners Jack Cooper and his partner Kaitlyn Alexis Nye who live on a farm close to the site of the accident.

“I’m currently on maternity leave with our baby, meaning my partner and I are on a low income,” said graphic designer Kaitlyn, 24. “The cost of Sanza’s treatment is more than we can manage, but we can’t bear the thought of losing him.

“Sanza isn’t just a pet – he’s family. We had his mother, who sadly passed away, and Sanza is the only connection we have left to her. He means everything, and letting him go because of money would break our hearts.

“We are asking for any help, no matter how small, to go towards his vet bills and give him the chance to recover. Every donation and kind word means the world to us.”

It's thought Sanza was hit on Tuesday, but Jack and Kaitlyn only found out where he was yesterday [Thursday, September 25]. “We’re so lucky he came out of it with just a broken leg and a dislocated hip,” said Jack, 28, who is a precision engineer.

“I go for a walk on the farm most evenings and he comes with me, but often gets distracted so I walk back by myself, and meet him the next day. But after a couple of days of not seeing him, we were worried. Although he was microchipped, we hadn’t registered it so we didn’t know where he was, and the vet didn’t know he was ours.

“Fortunately, the person who found him was a friend of my girlfriend’s brother, and that’s how we found out and started to piece the jigsaw together.”

Sanza came home today with a head cone, a bald patch and a metal bar in his leg. “He’s in high spirits, purring away, getting all the attention he can – which is just like him,” laughed Jack. “He’s a year and three months old, so young and full of life. He’s a little trooper.”

So far, 57 people have donated almost £700 towards the initial target of £1,400. “I’d never used GoFundMe before and didn’t really expect anything to come of it – I though people would say, ‘it’s just a cat’,” said Jack. “It helps out so much, especially given the position we’re in with a newborn. We’re through-the-roof grateful.”

Anyone wishing to support Sanza’s recovery can find donate via the dedicated GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/f/help-save-sanza-our-family-cat-after-hit-run