#a wild Lenore on MY dashboard? it's more likely than i thought

[kedreeva]

It's been ten years since I added Lenore's story to this post, and the notes are absolutely chock full of more stories about reasons to adopt the less adoptable kitties, cannot recommend enough going through them. This comic has single handedly inspired so much good in the world for special needs kitties.

Lenore passed on at the ripe old age of 18 (and possibly older, since I never knew her actual birthday/age exactly). She loved us to the very end, and I have no regrets about adopting her. It makes me so happy to see her story continuing to travel, and in combination with this beautiful comic, continuing to inspire folks to adopt adult and special needs cats. If I could have explained it to her, I think she would have liked that as a legacy.

This was meant to be a quick warm up, but it turned into a comic that I’ve wanted to draw for a while. This is something that is extremely important to me, and I appreciate it if you read it.

A while ago, I heard a story that broke my heart. A family went a cat shelter to adopt. The daughter fell in love with a 3-legged cat. The father straight up said “absolutely not”. Because he was missing a leg. That cat was that close to having a family that loved him, but the missing leg held him back. Why?!

Many people have the initial instinct of “nope” when they see an imperfect animal. I get it, but less-adoptable does NOT mean less loveable. 9 out of 10 people will choose a kitten over an adult cat. And those 10% that would get an adult cat often overlook “different” animals.

All I want people to do is be open to the idea of having a “different” pet in their lives. Choose the pet that you fall in love with, but at least give all of them a fair shot at winning your heart.

Don’t dismiss them, they deserve a loving home just as much as any other cat. They still purr, they still love a warm lap, they still play, they still love you. Trust me, next time you are in the market for a new kitty, just go over to that one cat that’s missing an eye and see what he’s all about!