Meet Peanut – the abandoned kitten with the heart of a lion

But nobody was there to take care of little Peanut after his feral mother and siblings abandoned him when he was a three-week-old kitten.

He was born with deformed front legs, which were folded under his paws and stopped him from crawling out of the hole in the ground inside a garden shed.

The owner of the house on the outskirts of Barnsley heard his cries and found him alone, clawing at the hole with his legs.

She appealed on Facebook for help and he was taken in by Heronbank Cat Resue in Batley last October.

Now Anne Fairless, founder of the centre, has launched the Pounds For Peanuts campaign to raise money for an operation to straighten the seven-month-old kitten’s legs.

“When Peanut came to us his legs were folded under and he was walking on his forearms and wrists,” she said.

“We realised his genetic condition wasn’t in any textbook and most places would have just put him to sleep there and then but I felt this little kitten deserved a chance of life.

“He is a courageous little cat. He doesn’t let his disability stop him and he has the heart of a lion.

“There is nothing he can’t do even though he has to wear splints. He runs up and down stairs and he jumps on beds and surfaces.”

Peanut, who lives with foster owner Diane Gregor in Poole in Wharfedale, will undergo a groundbreaking operation in the south of England to help relieve the tension caused by his abnormally tight tendons and ligaments.

The campaign has taken off Facebook and Twitter with people using the hashtag #PoundsForPeanuts.

Mrs Fairless added: “There has been a big reaction within the last week.

“It has gone viral and really has started to take off and we plan to keep the momentum going.”

More than £1,000 has been raised so far as part of the campaign.

The operation will go ahead in June if the money can be raised.

Visit www.gofundme.com/pyftn4 to support the appeal.