Jinx was only 3 weeks old when her family found her abandoned in a field in the middle of the night. It was cold and rainy, and she desperately needed their help, and as soon as they got her inside, they knew she was meant to be their cat.
“I had come home early from a football game at my friend’s high school and was talking to my mom when we heard meowing,” Mia Ibanez, Jinx’s family member, told The Dodo. “We had a giant field behind our house, so my mom and I went out into the backyard and shined a flashlight. All we could see was a tiny black thing in the field, so we climbed the fence and found Jinx.”
The family wrapped her up in a cozy blanket, gave her some formula and vowed to help nurse her back to health. She seemed to be doing just fine — but on the second day in her new home, Ibanez noticed that Jinx’s eyes were a little bigger than they should be, and then noticed a few other quirks as well.
“I wasn’t sure if it was just because she was a kitten (I hadn’t had a kitten in years), but I originally just thought her eyes were really big, but over time realized her feet were also really wonky and same with her nose and mouth,” Ibanez said. “I was expecting her to grow into them and it just never happened!”
Jinx’s family took her to the vet, who said she was perfectly healthy. She doesn’t have any underlying conditions or anything. Her unusual appearance is likely due to birth defects or side effects from her being abandoned as a kitten. They don’t affect her at all — they just make her really, ridiculously adorable.
Today, Jinx’s eyes are still huge. Her legs stick out to the sides, and her mouth and nose are a little different too. She’s very unique-looking, and almost looks more like a little alien than a cat — and her family wouldn’t have her any other way.
“I honestly was happy when she never [grew into them] because I love animals with quirks. I think they make her all the more adorable,” Ibanez said. “People are usually shocked when I show her to them. Usually people laugh a lot.”
Ibanez loves introducing people to Jinx because she always manages to bring them so much joy. Everyone loves Jinx and her differences, and her family is so glad that the world has accepted her for exactly who she is.
Besides her alien features, Jinx is just like every other cat. She loves to play, follows her family everywhere, sometimes needs her space and more often than not thinks she’s a human rather than a cat. She has no idea that she’s any different, and it doesn’t matter. No matter what, Jinx will always be perfect.
