We had a neighborhood cat that got hit by a car/motorcycle/mule/horse (I suspect horse or motorcycle--this cat is underfoot to a very high degree). She didn't appear to be run over by a car, but.....
Broken leg (and pelvis), honestly thought the leg would have to be amputated (daylight between the ankle and the tendon on the front of the foot at the ankle).
After a month or so, she's still a little wobbly, but she's now an indoor cat and we will make her life pretty awesome. She's as nice a cat as I could ask for.
Don't ask about the vet bills.
Yep. I've never 'purchased' a cat, but I did pay the bills to cover the vet costs to get 'em back up and running.
First cat: College girlfriend rescued off the highway on Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte. That's a 3 lane (at the time, not sure what it is now) divided highway, 55mph speed limit right next to the airport. No clue how she got to him or how he lasted as long as he did, but she said he was sitting, scared to death, on the line between lanes. He was a great cat for the 16 years I had him. His name was Helpful.
Second cat: Took first cat to the vet for typical checkup etc., and another cat opened the door to the room and jumped up on the vet table. Cat 1 had never tolerated other cats and would go full-on psycho if there was another cat near him. She sat down, he made a mild hiss and he sat down. By the end of the visit, I owned 2 cats. She was with us for 14 years. Her name was Friendly.
Cat 3: After losing the previous cats (and my wife's cat she brought to the marriage, roughly 18 years old - Pudstein), we got through the process and decided to go to the shelter and see if we could get a cat. She had one picked out from online stuff, but once we got there, it was no longer available. Not wanting to waste the trip, we looked at other cats and as I was looking at one, a cat from the cage above grabbed my hat, pulled it off my head and dropped it on the floor. We were now again a cat family. He passed too young, 10-ish years and was honestly the best cat I've ever been around. . .it hurt a mega-ton, not just the regular ton. His name was Nuzzle.
Cat 4: My wife was working in GA 3 days a week and commuting down from Charlotte to Gainesville on Tuesday, returning late Thursday for a while. She stopped at the Kings Mountain rest stop around 11pm in October to walk around/etc., and there was a tiny kitten in the middle of the parking lot scared by the cars (thankfully few) moving around. My wife went up to her, she came over and she coaxed her into the car and brought her home. As Cat 4 was a completely unknown quantity (i.e. feline leukemia or other disease concerns) she lived out in the garage (where my office is) in a cat bed in a drawer of my toolbox for the weekend and once she got the all-clear, the two cats got to meet. They never got along as well as I'd hoped, as he was very strong and dominant and she was small and scared of everything. She is still with us and has come out of her shell a bit as she's gotten older. Still a good bit skiddish at times, but loves her combing time and she's the only cat I've ever trained to give me a high-5. Her name is Olive.
So, thankfully, we've never adopted an extremely injured cat, I think Helpful and Olive were likely within hours of death before being scooped up and saved.