Lori Farris, a 50-year-old teacher, from Florida, USA, rescued a cat with Down’s Syndrome that she found wandering around in the street. She even saved the poor animal from being euthanized and gave her a forever home. However, she never thought that this kitten was about to become an important part of her life.
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One day, Farris was leaving work when she came across the kitten, worse for wear-looking kitten. The poor kitten was dirty, covered in fleas, and had a bloody nose.
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“One day when I left a student’s house there was a tiny, dirty kitten on the doorstep and she followed me to my car,” recalled Lori. “I took her home and cleaned her because she had fleas and a bloody nose.”
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Farris took the kitten home with her to get her cleaned up and named her Willow. A few days later, she brought the kitten to the vet for a check up. The vet found that the kitten not only had fleas, but she also had eye infections and intestinal parasites.
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Sadly, the vet said that the kitten would likely be put down at a shelter for not being ‘pretty’. As an animal lover, Farris knew that she couldn’t let this happen. So, she decided to bring the kitten home with her and wanted to give her the best life possible.
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“The poor thing had eye infections, fleas and intestinal parasites but the vet thought she seemed healthy other than her face and mouth – she said it was like feline Down Syndrome. The vet said that the shelter would surely euthanize her since she wasn’t ‘pretty’ so I decided to keep her.”
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It’s worth noting that cats cannot have Down’s Syndrome and Willow the cat seems otherwise healthy, so the vets thought that it could possibly just be a facial deformity. Willow quickly adjusted to her new life with Farris and thankfully, all her issues healed over time as well.
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Although her face and mouth appeared different than typical cat, Willow is definitely beautiful in her own way and her her family loves her so much.
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“I’m okay with people saying she’s weird-looking because she is, but I don’t like when people call her ugly, retarded, or gross,” Farris said. “I think people like her because she’s a symbol of love, kindness and being beautiful even though looking different. She’s a wonderful little cat in every way and I’m so glad she’s in my life.”
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Willow is now about two years old, and she is enjoying her happy and healthy life with Farries and her canine friend, Ella the Boxer. She now even has her own Instagram with over 141,000 followers.
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Willow proves that animals are so much more than just their appearance. If you love this story, please share it with your friends to brighten their day.
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h.t: iheartcats
