Kitty With Peculiar Face Finds Her Forever Home In A Shelter Employee With A Soft Spot For Special Needs
The ASPCA states that 2.1 million cats are adopted every year from shelters all over the United States, but some cats have an easier time than others. Near the bottom of the "most likely to be adopted" lists are cats with special needs.
Pets with disabilities, medical conditions, and even disfigurements are easily overlooked, especially because people tend to make assumptions that the care involved for these pets may be beyond their emotional or financial capabilities. According to Dr. William Doherty, a family therapist, "Caring for a special needs pet can deepen our understanding of compassion and responsibility." The truth is, though, that special needs pets are often much easier to care for and love than people give them credit for, and they can be some of the best pets imaginable.
Some of the most famous internet celebrity pets fall into the special needs category. In fact, one of the world's most famous internet cat celebrities was Lil Bub, who had a "severe" case of feline dwarfism.
Dr. Esther Perel, a renowned couples therapist, emphasizes that "the bond formed with a special needs pet can be incredibly rewarding, often teaching us empathy and patience." This sentiment resonates with Butler County Humane Society in Pennsylvania, where Onyx, a stray found alongside her litter of kittens, was brought to find her forever home.
BCHS was tasked with providing the care the litter of kittens would need until they were ready to be adopted into their forever homes, an important service that most animal shelters attempt to provide all over the world.
Everyone at the shelter was confident that Onyx's kittens would all easily be adopted when they were mature enough to leave their mama, but nobody seemed to share that enthusiasm for Onyx herself. After all, Onyx was born with a cleft palate.
Cleft palate occurs when the tissue that makes up the roof of the mouth does not join together completely during pregnancy.
It is a congenital birth defect that is more common in female cats and is more likely to occur in some breeds than others. According to PetGuide:
"In addition to being inherited, experts have theorized that other factors might also be to blame. For example, a cleft palate might be the result of a pregnant cat being exposed to teratogenic chemicals, which could interfere with the normal development of embryos, or excessive amounts of vitamin A and vitamin D."
When Onyx arrived at BCHS, a vet examined her and determined that she would not require surgery for health reasons, and for the most part, having the cleft palate doesn't affect her at all.
The biggest effect having a cleft palate has on Onyx is when she gets a small piece of food stuck. On such occasions, she has a sneezing fit.
Still, Onyx has a permanently unique look that can deter potential adopters far too easily, to the extent that they may not inquire about her needs (something most advocates of pet adoption strongly encourage) and thus never discover that she doesn't have unusual needs at all for a special needs cat.
Cindy had not been working at the shelter long when Onyx and her litter of kittens arrived—only a few weeks, actually. But when she saw Onyx, she knew she had to have her.
"[I] instantly fell in love with her the first time I saw her," Houk told The Dodo. "I have two special needs children, and I just have a special place in my heart for anyone with special needs. There was just something so beautiful about her sweet face."
BCHS has a policy that shelter employees must wait 90 days before they can adopt. It's very easy for someone entering the industry to want to adopt all of the animals, even when that may be beyond an adopter's abilities, so this policy helps protect everyone involved in a non-biased way.
So for 90 days, Cindy visited Onyx every single day without fail. And every single day, she fell more in love with the little black kitty with the cleft palate.
True to the assumptions, nobody else seemed interested in adopting Onyx over those 90 days, and to Cindy, it was all the more proof that the duo was meant to be.
"I showed cats to many people who wanted to adopt, and there wasn't once that anyone wanted her," Houk said. "It was heartbreaking, but at the same time, I was thrilled knowing my time would come and I could take her home."
Cindy wanted her whole family to love Onyx, so as the 90 days came closer to its end, she brought her family in to meet Onyx. Cindy knew that her family wouldn't think twice about Onyx's unique facial features because being different was a part of their lives already.
"After my daughter, who has Down syndrome, met Onyx, she came home and told her dad that Onyx needed to be part of our family since she had special needs too. I just needed her, knowing that she needed a good family that would love her exactly the way she is."
At the end of the 90-day waiting period, no one had come to adopt Onyx, so Cindy got to adopt her and bring her home.
After only a few weeks, it was more evident than ever that this was a perfect match for both the cat and the family. Onyx's personality has blossomed in her forever home, as she has become one of the most talkative and playful cats imaginable.
"She never stops talking," Houk said. "I absolutely love it! She is extremely playful. She is happy first thing in the morning when she sees us. It is such a good feeling. We have five other cats, all rescues, that she has to play with, plus a big, fun dog. We plan on spoiling Onyx for the rest of her life. To my family, she is absolutely perfect!"
We've seen many special needs kitties over the years, and we can't ever seem to get enough.
It may feel overwhelming at first to consider caring for a special needs pet, even one with a cosmetic cleft palate, but there's no amount of love these cats can't offer us, and they deserve just as much opportunity for a fulfilling and loving life as any other cat. Don't you agree?
Share your thoughts and experiences with special needs pets in the comment section below; we love hearing from you!
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