Every facial expression is personal and unique to each feline. It’s very wrong to assume that every cat has the same expression because that couldn’t be further from the truth. Believe me, I know it.
During my lengthy fostering experience, I have seen many different felines with many different facial expressions. Some looked as though they were smiling, some as though they were mad and annoyed by the world around them, and some like the saddest kitties in the whole wide world.
My three precious furbabies, Salem, Luna, and Pixie, are pretty much nothing alike. Salem is oh-so mysterious and seems distant, Luna is my gentle child, while Pixie is the cray-cray one. And trust me when I tell you, their purrsonality traits are evident on their adorable little furry faces.
However, bear in mind that they had not always been that way. There was a time (back in the shelter) when they wore a mask of sadness. It took so much time, love, and effort for me to get to know who they really were beneath their armor.
I had to dig a little deeper for their personalities to shine.
Today, I am bringing you a very similar story about a once very sad cat named Otie whose post-adoption pictures have taken the world by storm.
Otie was one of many sad and depressed kittos in his local shelter. I’m not sure how and when he got there, whether he previously had an owner who abandoned him or he was there from early kittenhood.
Not that any of that matters, really. All that matters is that Otie was feeling blue a little bit too often (read: all the time). His life at the shelter was very sad and discouraging, and he felt alone in the world.
Because of his sunken facial expression and overall depressed stance, many people veered away from him. We cannot really blame them.
The majority of the people who come to the shelter intend to adopt a happy kitty who will bring sunshine into their life. And Otie’s miserable and reserved disposition was not exactly screaming, “Pick me, choose me, love me,” but more like, “Don’t you dare bother me.”
However, deep down under his mask of sadness, Otie just wanted to be loved. He wanted someone to come along and recognize his desire to have a home and a family, and his ability to give the same amount of love back.
And thankfully, one day, that someone walked through the shelter’s door.
When Alyssa Keeling (spoiler alert: Otie’s current owner) laid her eyes on Otie, she instantly fell in love. According to her, Otie kept to himself because he was clearly depressed. But deep down he had “this big personality that was not meant to be caged.”
I am not sure what made Alyssa want to make Otie a part of her life. Maybe she was able to see something in him none of the previous potential adopters were ever able to. Maybe she just had a sixth sense or an ability to see cats for who they really are.
Or maybe, she just wanted to help a kitty in need, to give him his furrever home and put a smile on his gloomy face.
Whatever was going through her head, Alyssa’s decision to adopt Otie was life-changing. The moment she brought him home, she was introduced to a very different cat. Before she realized it, Otie had shown her his true colors.
When Otie arrived at his now furrever home, it was as though a switch flipped inside him. He went from a miserable cat to a super happy and content one. Or as Alyssa said, Otie came to life.
Right from the start, Otie showed Alyssa how loving and affectionate he truly was. He spent his days cuddling up next to her on the couch, playing with all of his toys, spending time with his feline step-siblings, Henry, Carl, and Curtis, and generally enjoying this new life he had been blessed with.
There was no doubt: Otie truly blossomed, and all thanks to his amazing cat momma Alyssa.
Take a look at these adorable pictures of Otie and see for yourself what an amazing transformation his life has truly been. From a sad shelter resident to a happy indoor kitty – he made it!
Otie’s life is the proof we all need: that love, when shared, can do incredible things.
Let us all be encouraged by this inspiring story. Let’s all go to our nearest shelter, find the saddest kitty there, and make his or her life better by offering a forever home. Why not? Life is too short to avoid any chance you get to adopt a furry friend in need.
Norma Peebles
Saturday 12th of August 2023
Loved reading this!