Cotton the cat was hungry, sick and on the verge of death when it was abandoned on the street. Because his eyes were boiled with scabies and he had been eaten alive by spiders, it was almost difficult for him to find food without using his eyes. But then came the arrival of his guardian angel. When Carmen Weinberg, founder of Animal Friends Project Inc., took it, she was saddened to see it.
“The mites were so terrible that he couldn’t even see or open his eyes,” Carmen told The Dodo. “It must have been terrifying for him not to be able to see out there. He was completely alone and quite thin due to his inability to locate food.”
Carmen helped Cotton regain his strength by giving him substantial meals and treating his mange with lotions, coconut oil, and antibiotics once he was cleaned up. “As the days progressed, we could really feel his tight body begin to relax,” she added. “At long last, he was able to relax without itching so much.”
“Cats like Cotton depend on people to heal, because they cannot always ask for help … I’m sure so many people passed him by because of how sick he looked, but he was just waiting for someone to give him a chance.”
Cotton, who was still blind, saw that he was being given a second chance at life, and the two developed a deep relationship. Carmen’s care and feeding helped him recuperate from a variety of ailments, but the day he was able to open his eyes again was a truly magical moment. “We believed he was blind and would stay blind for the rest of his life,” Carmen added. “The vet was concerned that his eyes might be damaged even if he recovered, but they were not. It came as such a pleasant surprise. His eyes were simply stunning.”
Cotton’s transition from dirty bag-of-bones to a robust and dashing tomcat was complete with one eye a brilliant blue and the other a hazel. He was as surprised as anybody to regain his vision, and he adapted to living with Carmen so well that she was unwilling to place him for adoption, despite the fact that he had plenty of admirers! “We received so many applications for him because of his appearance, but in the end, I realized how connected he had grown to me,” she explained. “I didn’t want to put him through another major transition. He’d gone through so much already.”
Carmen’s work is critical for the cats of South Florida, where overcrowding is a significant concern. She told Bored Panda, “I decided to create Animal Friends Project after seeing the enormous quantity of homeless animals in South Florida.” “The majority of these cats needed to be spayed or neutered, and many were sick or injured, and no one seemed to be doing much to treat them. People would become friends with the animals and desire to assist them, I imagined, if they were made aware of the problem.”
“My husband, son, daughter, and sister all contribute significantly, and I have a few volunteers and fosters, but I do the most of the arranging and work myself because I am the one who visits the low-income regions where the majority of the cats reside. The problem is that every time I visit these areas, I find sick animals, making it difficult to accomplish things like educate and fundraise while administering to the sick cats. There was a lot of driving to and from vet appointments.”
“Please don’t reject them,” I advise. Animals may be helped by everyone. Many sick stray cats are amiable, and putting them in a box and transporting them to a veterinarian is simple. People can raise money to pay for medical treatment. At the very least, start taking pictures and asking for help.”
Carmen’s non-profit has given Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) services to hundreds of community cats in the region because to her dedicated efforts, but there is still much more to be done! You may assist by donating here or by fostering or adopting a kitten. For additional information, visit Carmen’s Facebook or Instagram pages!
