I want to share a very important date. One year ago, on July 28th, my mom found one of our cats, Jack. I'm usually not big on dates, I even forget my anniversary with Oka... but Jack's first anniversary means a lot to me, and I really want to share a bit of his story. It's been a very important issue to me this last year, it's also a beautiful story of love and hope.
A year ago, when my mom found Jackie he was in a very poor condition. We don't know what happened to him, I HAVE to believe he had an accident, because the alternative is too painful. Anyway, whatever accident he had caused him a lot of injuries, the most important of them, the lost of his left eye.
He was very young, weak, thin, and injured. No one allowed me to see him, they said it was too much for me... maybe they were right. He was rushed the the vet, and he performed the surgery to save his young life. The vet even made sure to make him look as normal and pretty as possible, he's awesome (he said he had studied some techniques with a (human's) plastic surgeon, I wish all vets would care so much about animals as he does).
After the surgery we brought him back and started to look after him. It was a slow process, and I went through most of it in tears. He was so tiny and thin that everyone was afraid to pick him up, he was so very fragile... I would gently pick him up and let him sleep in my arms all day, he was very weak so he slept a lot back then. I felt that the best thing I could do was keep him warm and let him know I was there.
He went through a lot those first weeks. One day he was weaker than usual and he wouldn't move, after another rushed visit to the vet it turned out that he had a huge headache caused by whatever little optical nerve he had left; one shot later he was better. A few days later we discovered he had fleas, but that one was easy to control. Some deworming later he was also clean of worms and other nasty things. After a while we discovered he was lactose intolerant... I know, all cats are lactose intolerant, but he was REALLY intolerant. You should have seen it to understand.
But one wonderful day, he woke up and he was better. All better. He started to jump around, run, and he was a perfectly normal kitty. The first time I saw him play, after all those hard weeks, I cried.
Jackie, 3 months old. Some minor scars left.
He never knew he was different. He learned how to move, jump and do everything like any regular kitty, but with just one eye. I admit it was difficult at first, he bumped into some things, but he learned. He played with the other cats, he fought with them, he was a perfect kitty. I thought he would never be able to hunt or catch anything, but he's just as good as any other cat! But that's something I'm not particularly happy with, I'm always shoo'ing away the birds...
Jackie, 9 months old. No scarring left!
He also started to grow a LOT. He's the largest cat we have. He has a very strong personality, and he soon became the boss. But to me...? He's a little cuddly baby.
When he was 9 months old, we feared for him again. He had a fight with one of our cats (we never saw which one) that resulted in a big scratch in his eye. When we saw him crying blood we worried a lot, we didn't know what it was, but the vet said he would be fine, he wasn't going to loose his other eye. He prescribed some eye drops, and believe me, it was a challenge!! That's a story on its own.
He still has a tiny scar in his eye, but that's it. He's fine. He's perfectly fine. He's healthy, strong, and pretty much crazy. He doesn't remember anything that happened, he doesn't know he's different, now all he has to worry about is dinner time and finding a cozy spot to sleep. He's very happy, and every time I see him, I feel very happy too. He's our little miracle.
Jackie, just a week ago.
At first, I was afraid I would see him different, or that I would always think of him as a cat with one eye. But I don't. I only see him as Jackie, that's the way he is, and he is perfect. He is gorgeous, and I wouldn't change a thing about him.
Here's a little secret... do you see his left ear? He lost the tip too. That's my favorite thing about him. The tip of my right ear is slightly bent, a birth defect I've always ignored (it's almost always covered by hair, and it's always been part of me). When I realized that our ears were similar, I went crazy with excitement. I remember when the vet said he could make both ears even, I immediately yelled "NO!!!".
That's it. It was nice to finally put my memories and thoughts into words. Jackie taught me that anything is possible and that being different doesn't make you different. He's also a proof of how wonderful cats are, specially when they're rescued from the streets or a shelter. They pay you a million times with happiness and love.
~Talty
