Lori Farris works as a special needs teacher and when she was leaving a student’s house one day she spotted a tiny dirty kitten on the doorstep.
When the kitten began to follow Lori to her car, she knew she had to help her. So she decided to take the kitten with her, who she named Willow, and get her cleaned up.
Soon after rescuing this tiny kitten that was covered in fleas, Lori took her to the vet for a thorough examination.
The vet discovered that not only did Willow have fleas, she had an eye infection and intestinal parasites.
However, her face and mouth appeared different to a typical cat and while cats cannot have Down’s syndrome, the vet said she had a chromosomal abnormality that was something similar.
He also explained that if she had been taken to a shelter she would have been euthanized because her look wasn’t “pretty” and would have made it difficult for her to be adopted.
That was when Lori decided to keep her. Despite Willow’s unusual looks, Lori had already fallen in love with her.
With Lori’s care and love, as well as some much needed medication, Willow grew from a small sickly kitten into a happy, loving cat.
“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,” explained Lori.
“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.”
Two years down the line and Willow is still living with Lori alongside her best friend, Ella the Boxer.
This unlikely pair play together, eat together and even sleep together.
Willow even has her own Instagram page with over 147,000 followers where she loves showing off her collection of flower hats!
What a lucky kitty she is! Way to go Willow and thank you to Lori for saving her.
