One of the true benefits of widespread social media access and use is all the wonderful tales we get to be a part of as they develop, and there are few better examples than animal rescue, especially special needs cats! The animal rescue, foster, rehabilitation, and adoption industries are doing fantastic work, and social media has played a significant role.
Look no farther than Pinocchio if you have any doubts. Pinocchio is a strange feline that has overcome significant challenges and been on a medical roller coaster, but due to Friends for Life Rescue Network, he is still living his best cat life.
Pinocchi was 3 months old at the time, but he was still the size of a 5-6 week old kitten!
Friends’s life-saving network Jacqueline Santiago spotted a picture of a kitten with obvious anomalies born in the summer of 2020.
They weren’t sure what was wrong with the kitten at first, but he was picked up by a rescue team. “He was hungry, dehydrated and infected with fleas,” Jacqueline said at the time.
Mel Lamprey had started milking the cat after realizing she needed medical attention. Mel is an experienced foster parent who has already received several kittens for long-term foster care, with various ailments. He has been caring for these cats for more than three years.
Pinocchio, or Poke as he is affectionately known, will be adopted at some point. He is not presently available for adoption due to his significant medical demands.
Friends for Life and Mel have both explained to interested fans why Poke needs to have fewer medical requirements, why COVID-related roadblocks have slowed development considerably. BUT, when he’s well and ready, he’ll say goodbye to Mel and Friends for good.
In the meantime, he’s genuinely loved by Mel and her partner and he’s obviously a happy, adorable, sweet kitty, unhindered by the complexities life has thrown his way.
“Gastrointestinal difficulties, Enlarged heart, Heart murmur, Collapsed lung lobe, Tented skull, Deviated septum, Chronic upper respiratory infections, Eye issues, Dental concerns, and Possible neurological issues” are just a few of the medical challenges Pinnocchio has faced with in the previous year.
Still Mel says, “he’s a really happy guy who loves everyone — other people, other cats and dogs.”
“He comes up to anybody who enters the room and climbs up to their shoulder to perch,” Jacqueline said in an interview with The Dodo. He likes to brush up against you, play, and jump around.”
Mel says:
“I can’t believe how much this strong boy has been through, and he still has his ‘I’m great, I can do anything attitude!’”
Pinocchio may have a unique appearance and face health challenges, but it’s clear that he’s just as much a cat as any other, and it’s wonderful that Friends for Life and Mel have been able to keep his adoring fans updated as well as raise awareness and support for the ups and downs of fostering medically complex cats.
“We call this Pinocchio’s ‘Fraggle angle,’” Mel writes. I’m sorry you missed it if you don’t know what a Fraggle is.”
