THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised online through Facebook to try to help a poorly kitten lead a normal life.

Thomas is only five-months-old but is severely underweight as he has been unable to eat properly since a small cupboard fell on him in December, damaging his jaw.

Despite regular trips to the vets, only now has the cause of the problem been identified but his treatment comes at a price and his foster family — Elaine and Gary Clarke — put out a desperate appeal to raise the £5,000 they need to pay for the operation to help Thomas get better.

Elaine, who is unable to work following an accident last year that left her in a coma for seven weeks, had been following Thomas' story on Facebook and offered to look after Thomas when his owner in Leeds said she was struggling to care for the poorly kitten.

"Thomas' owner posted a video of him trying to eat after the accident asking people if they thought it was right and everyone said it wasn't," said Elaine, aged 50.

"I followed him for a while and when his owner said she was in need of a cat-sitter I offered to take Thomas in as he needs syringe-feeding every three hours."

Elaine, of Locking Stumps, Birchwood, managed to get Thomas transferred to the practice where the TV programme Supervet is filmed in Surrey where they discovered that Thomas' bones had fused back together incorrectly after the trauma.

Thomas now needs an operation to remove the damaged side of his jaw and in the meantime is being fed through a stomach tube.

"At one point one of the vets we saw told us there was nothing more we could do to save him," she said.

"Me and my husband just sat their crying but we couldn't give up on him yet.

"He is an adorable kitten despite everything he has been through and he deserves a chance at a normal life.

"I want to thank everyone involved with Team Thomas who are helping to get him better."

So far, Thomas has received overwhelming support and more than £4,000 has been raised.

After spending a week down at the Surrey surgery Thomas is now back home where Elaine and Gary, with help from their children Stephen and Corinna and the Clarke's cat Bella, are building up Thomas' strength for the operation which could take around three hours.

To donate, visit gofundme.com/o390zo.