Longtime Boston Radio Voice Adopts 'Gumby' Special Needs Kitten: MSPCA

SALEM, MA — Gumby, the 11-week-old Texas rescue kitten with a rare deformity in his rear legs that limits his joint mobility and makes them appear to "dangle" by his side, will hear a voice in his new forever home that will be very familiar to Greater Boston radio listeners.

The MSCPA said on Wednesday that longtime radio personality and animal advocate Danielle Murr has adopted Gumby to her North Shore home.

"Gumby will have dog, cat, and even hamster siblings to keep him company in his new home!" the MSPCA said in posting the picture-perfect resolution to Gumby's tumultuous travels from Texas to Boston. "Thank you to everyone who shared his story and helped find Gumby this happy ending. Happy tails, Gumby."

Gumby's story was widely reported by Patch and other media outlets this week.

Gumby came to the MSPCA from Texas to receive medical treatment and his new home with a rare deformity of his rear legs that affects muscle contracture and limits his joint mobility.

"We've never seen a cat quite like this," MSPCA Lead Clinician of Community and Shelter Medicine Dr. Rebecca Fellman said earlier this week.

While Gumby can be a bit clumsy at times, the MSPCA said he is able to walk and use a litterbox. Potential adopters were advised they would have to give Gumby a hand from time to time since he cannot jump or climb stairs.

Fellman said it had been determined that surgery would not significantly improve Gumby's mobility and that — other than looking quite peculiar — he is healthy. The MSPCA said Gumby may benefit from some physical therapy once he settles into a new environment.

"At this point, he isn't developing any sores," Fellman said. "So it doesn't make sense to put him through what will be a painful (surgical) process at this time."

Murr recently served as the interim morning co-host at WKLB-FM while former American Idol contestant and Boston College basketball player Ayla Brown was out on maternity leave. Murr previously was the co-host of the "The Greg Hill Show" on WAAF-FM and WEEI-FM before leaving that show in 2021.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)