They say nobody’s perfect. We all have our own imperfections. We may be insecure because of those imperfections, but most of the time it’s those quirks that make us beautiful and special, just like the case with Lobstah the cat.

Lobstah is a cat rescued from the streets by the San Francisco SPCA. But what makes this kitty so special is that he has a very unusual paw – it’s shaped like a lobster claw. Hence his name, Lobstah!

Lobstah was only 4 months old when he was rescued. But other than his deformed paw, Lobstah has a serious, life-threatening birth defect.

This cute kitty has an underdeveloped chest wall. He also has an underdeveloped diaphragm and pericardial sac–the protective sac surrounding the heart.

We knew something was really wrong when instead of the usual wriggly but solid kitten body, veterinary staff just felt “something squishy” where his chest should have been. It turns out that Lobstah had been born with an underdeveloped diaphragm and pericardial sac (the protective sac surrounding the heart).

Amazingly, the surgical team of Dr. Jeanette Goh of the San Francisco SPCA, together with vascular specialist Dr. Margo Mehl, was able to reconstruct a chest wall to save this little cutie.

After recovering from surgery, Lobstah was adopted by a couple who had experience in raising a special needs cat.