I think each and every cat parent in this world would agree on one thing: taking care of cats is a demanding, time-consuming, and sometimes even exhausting experience. But it certainly is an extremely fulfilling and inspiring one, and one full of blessings.
I can tell you from personal experience. My cats are my biggest concern, my most tedious worry, and my nerve-wracking obligation. However, they are also my sweetest cuddle sessions, my most affectionate emotional support, and my favorite life companions.
I do not know what would I do without them. Sure, I would probably have a fuller wallet, but I would most definitely have an empty home and an even emptier heart. That is why I don’t mind the challenge of taking care of my favorite fluffs. It truly is a rewarding experience.
Now, imagine how both challenging and rewarding it must be to take care of a special needs feline. This kind of feline is unfortunate enough to have a certain physical disability or medical condition which makes her life significantly more difficult.
The great majority of people steer away from special needs felines because they are searching for a “perfect” pet – a pet with no visible flaws whatsoever.
But what these people do not know is how amazing it can be to adopt a special need kitty. Our today’s heroine, Laura Hawthorne, can undoubtedly testify to that.
Laura has been volunteering for nine years at the Kitten Rescue – a non-profit organization whose main purpose is to rescue and adopt homeless cats and orphaned kittens across Los Angeles. The organization has been established in the spring of 1997, and since then has been very successful at helping LA felines.
Each year Kitten Rescue manages to find a forever home for more than 1,000 cats and kittens, and since their beginning, they have rescued over 31,000 felines. And the best part is, these numbers will only continue to grow.
When it comes to Laura, over the course of nine years since she has been volunteering at the Kitten Rescue, she managed to find a loving family for more than 275 cats and kittens and even a couple of dogs.
With every rescued feline, Laura felt unconditional love and a deep connection. But nothing could have prepared her for the love and light that one special kitty brought into her life.
One day, destiny brought a little kitten named Pretzel and her two siblings, Curly Sue and Oliver Twist, into Laura’s life. They were all born with various physical deformities and medical problems and were abandoned by their owners at the local city shelter when they were just a few hours old. Can you imagine that?!
Because of the shelter’s limited resources, poor babies were supposed to be euthanized. But when Laura found out about that cruel decision, her heart broke into a million pieces.
She simply could not let that happen! So naturally, she decided to take all three of them home, determined to keep them alive and secure them a happy and healthy life.
When she brought them home, all three of them still had their umbilical cords attached. But Laura was adamant to help all of them. She invested all of her time and energy into them, making sure every kitten has the best T.L.C. (“Tender, love, and care”) she could possibly give them.
She started giving them the formula, various fluids, and antibiotics, all in hopes she will somehow breathe the lively spirit into their poor weak bodies.
Unfortunately, there was only so much she could have done. Some things in life are simply meant to happen, and some people (or pets) we love are simply meant to leave us.
Little Oliver Twist was the first to go to a better place, leaving a hole in Laura’s heart. She took Pretzel and Curly Sue to the vet to get an X-ray which determined that the poor girls had skeleton deformities and several missing bones in their legs and knees.
And the vet also found out Curl Sue had severe heart defects. So she, as a brave 12-week-old fluff, sadly passed away from a serious heart attack. And she too, left a hole in Laura’s heart.
However, Pretzel seemed as though she was determined to live and never leave Laura’s side. She continued to grow stronger and stronger, never letting anything stop her.
It was like she was living in spite of the cruel conditions and deformities she had been born with.
Pretzel grew up as an extremely playful feline. Today, she loves to wrestle with other kittens, cuddle with her humans, and generally live her best feline life.
Laura said that Pretzel is living proof that no one has to be “perfect to live a perfectly happy life.” And we could not agree more!
Pretzel’s story teaches us how life is indeed too short to worry about things like physical appearance and minor obstacles. Sure, she is not a “normal” kitty, but what fun is being normal, anyway?
If she has a feline spirit (which she indeed does) that she and any other special needs kitties deserve all the love they can get.
