Have you got a soft spot for the ‘underdog’ or want to make a difference to a life? If you too don’t believe in pet stores and think that adopting is the way forward, then maybe you have what it takes to be a parent to a special pet!
Most people see special needs pets as ‘damaged goods’. They are so often overlooked and it takes a long time to find them homes - but 38smiles and their friends think they are unique and perfect in their own way. Adopting a special needs pet will change their life forever, and will bring so much more meaning to yours. Let’s introduce you to some of the unique cats looking for a home. Email info@38smiles.com to meet them.
OREO ‘angel eyes’
was rescued from the streets three months ago when I was still a tiny kitten and was taken to the vet as I couldn’t walk properly and my tail was hanging down in a strange way. I was diagnosed with a sacrum fracture, due to which I couldn’t walk, control my bladder or my tail. After medication and rest, I started walking, jumping, climbing, playing and running. I also became an expert on how to keep my tail out of the way while playing, but my foster human still has to be very careful not to close the door on it as I won’t feel it, but my tail might still break.
Unfortunately, I still haven’t re-learned how to pee-pee so my foster human has to express my bladder 2 to 3 times a day. I have been fully vaccinated and neutered and everyone says I’m healthy and super cute. I have great personality and get along with other cats and kittens, and I love humans.
MALCHO ‘handle with care’
What is a cat to do when it gets hit by a car, but to hide from the world and cry his pain away? After a while hunger takes over and you get on with the pain, come out of hiding to find food in order to stay alive, and that’s when someone sees you and instantly knows something is wrong. The next morning you wake up at the vet with x-rays showing two broken hips and no other option but double hip surgery.
Luckily for me surgery was successful, and even though I can still be a little wobbly on my back legs (handle with care), I have fully recovered and can run up and down the stairs the same as any other cat. I’m a little shy at first, but have the cutest little voice and the most beautiful eyes.
MAGIC & LOKI ‘two peas in a pod’
Magic: My life started in a construction site. It wasn’t a great start but at least I was getting fed by a nice lady. One day my tail started hurting and turned blood red and the smell coming from it was terrible! The next day that nice lady started chasing me around and trying to grab me and shove me in a box. I don’t trust humans, but now I know she was just trying to help me and take me to the vet. I had my tail amputated and also was treated for pneumonia.
Now I live with my foster mum as a happy tail-less kitten, which is where I met my best friend Loki!
Loki: Thanks to my good looks, I was rescued from the streets by my foster mum. She took me to the vet who confirmed that my tail was deliberately cut off! Lucky for me it was already healing and I didn’t need surgery. I met Magic in my foster home and we are like two peas in a pod; we do everything together, and if you ask me - Magic can’t make it without me in this world, he lacks confidence and needs me for support.
ROMEO ‘like a Phoenix from the ashes’
I had a home once, and was very happy until one evening I found myself next to a big smelly box that ‘street smart’ cats call the dinner table - but to me it was all just rubbish that I couldn’t eat. Not being used to life on the streets, I couldn’t make any friends and got chased away time and time again by the bullies. Very soon I started to starve and lose weight, my fur started falling (to be honest that was better as it was so hot and I’m a Persian), my hips became very sore and I was finding it hard to walk and my heart also wasn’t working very well.
I had given up when one day help came; I was rescued and taken to the vet. The vet did all sorts of tests and x-rays and everyone was quite amazed as to how I was still alive. I had an enlarged heart, very sore back hips, no fur at all, weighed only 2 kilos and was FIV positive.
After few months at the vet I doubled in weight, my hips are not sore anymore and I walk just fine, and my fur started growing back. Unfortunately my heart is still enlarged but I have no symptoms and no troubles with it, I guess I was just born that way. I’m FIV positive but the good news is I cannot transfer it to humans, and as long as I live indoors as an only cat I can be a happy healthy puss for many years.
My foster parent says I’m chilled, cuddly and most importantly, a purring machine.
POPPET ‘good things come in small packages’
For me, life is an adventure. I’ve been through cat flu at the age of 3 months, bladder stones at 6 months, surgery to remove the stones at 8 months, and now I’m on a lifelong diet to keep it under control. Then there was the poisoning when I was 1 (that was touch and go - I was in the emergency for 3 days).
I’m a ‘monster’ locked in a tiny cat’s body. I like to play, run, watch the birds outside, and make a big mess in my litter box - but most of all I like to be your shadow!