An adorable cat found starved on the roadside with two broken legs is now on his way to a sensational full recovery.

Black-and-white moggy Nigel, who has no microchip, was dehydrated and incredibly thin when he was found by a member of the public.

The Whitstable Bay Veterinary Centre, which opened last summer, splashed £3,000 of its own money to help rebuild Nigel after he was delivered there on Christmas Eve.

Surgeon Vicky Scutt, who is the co-owner of the centre with her husband Adam, said: “He was in a pretty bad state when he came in.

“He not only had two broken legs but they were snapped in several places.

“We think it was a road accident but when he was brought in by a member of the public, the injuries didn’t look fresh so we reckon he had been struggling around unable to get food for some time.”

Nigel, who is now recovering, tested negative for feline leukaemia and immunodeficiency virus.

Vicky and Adam took Nigel home over Christmas to fatten him up while he was on a drip to give him pain relief.

“The back leg was broken in three sections so we used pins to secure it back together on December 28,” Vicky added.

“Now he has pins that run through his shin bone and an external cage around his leg to take all the weight.

“With his front leg, he broke the equivalent of the human forearm which is the ulna. This was repaired with a pin and two plates – so at the moment he is a cat full of metal.

“We’re stomaching the cost for him and we all got attached to him while he was here.

“He’s used to human contact as he is very friendly – maybe he is a lost cat, but we don’t know.

“When he was here, we let him out in the evenings after the surgery was shut so he could have a wander around.”

Nigel is now being fostered by Cats Protection and will be brought back to the vets to X-ray his legs under anaesthetic in a few weeks.

If the healing has gone as planned, the pins and external cage from his hind leg will be removed.

However, the plates and pin in his front leg will stay for the rest of his life.

Vicky added: “He is now a totally different character to the sad, thin and dehydrated chap that came in.

“Once he’s given the all-clear and all fixed, I’m sure he’ll find a loving new home.”