In August 2009, I saw a tiny, injured kitten where I work. One leg was very swollen and she smelled of the dumpster she lived near. Little did I know, the smell was from more than the dumpster. But when I picked up this tiny, colorful bag of skin and bones, she was purring like mad. I couldn’t leave her to die.

When I left work, I had a little box holding a tiny kitten sitting up and looking around at her world. Off to the vet to find the one pound, six week old kitten had a dislocated elbow that was terribly infected.

The infection had eaten away the skin on most of one leg and half of her chest. She was not a pretty picture, but still… she purred.

The vet knew she was a stray and asked what I wanted to do. I said her name is Gaia Rose and she’s mine. He smiled and said we’ll do it. The journey began.

Eight months of twice a month vet visits, sometimes more, creams, compresses, antibiotics, and preparation led to surgery in February of 2010 to remove the leg. The skin would never fully grow back and the muscles were damaged. An entire kitten-hood lived in a cage due to her condition.

After a bout of ringworm brought on by the stress of the surgery, and almost losing her in recovery, she was on her way to enjoying life as a “real” cat instead of a caged one.

In July 2014, this little bundle of love and energy will be five years old. She still acts like a kitten and, due to her rough start, she’ll always be kitten-sized at barely six pounds.

She runs on par with all her four legged siblings and can give the boys twice her size a run for their money. She’ll snuggle under the blanket with me, or in my shirt if there’s nothing else, to sleep and she’ll sleep as long as I do most of the time.

Gaia is my tiny miracle and she still purrs like crazy.

Love rescue stories? Keep reading!

We remember it as if it were yesterday! A friend sent us a photograph of a scruffy, scraggly, skinny black kitten with ears too big for its small head. As a matter of fact, he kinda looked like a bat. My husband was allergic to cats and we knew we couldn’t have one. Plus, we already had two rescued dogs, which took up a lot of room in our modestly sized apartment. I kept looking at the black kitten’s photos. I kept throwing hints at my husband, but the answer was always a firm, “NO!”

I kept checking on his progress through e-mails. My friend was worried that she wouldn’t be able to find him a good home because some people have this unfounded superstition about black cats! How ridiculous!

At that point, I was determined to convince my husband that we should take in Mr. Scruffy. Even if it meant he’d have to go through an allergy regimen. I think eventually my husband grew tired of my reminders and pleadings and he finally gave in. He said, “FINE, you can have the darn cat, but I’m not changing any litter!”

We picked up Mr. Scruffy. The moment my husband saw him, it was love at first sight. He went to the doctor, got a prescription for allergy pills, and that was that.

Milo, as we renamed him, became an important member of our family. He grew into a wondrous, regal, appreciative, huge cat with a certain knowledge that we had done something grand for him, so he was going to pay it forward. Milo is going on three years young. We can’t imagine our lives without Milo! And my husband has been changing his litter for three years! Ha!

We’ve got one more rescue story we’re sure you’ll love!

I had put my last kitty, Emma, to sleep in January and really missed having a cat around. So in June, I adopted a kitty named “Babs” from a local shelter. I wanted a cat that was a little bit older, as I knew they were harder to adopt out. I was thinking 3 or 4 years old. “Babs” was 8, but that didn’t bother me! She was so cute and had a sad story.

In November, her owner had died and when the relatives came to clear out the house, they just put Babs out on the front porch! In November!! A declawed cat that had never gone outside.

How people can be so cruel is beyond me. A nice neighbor lady (Bless her!) had been feeding her and then decided to take her in, but Babs didn’t get along with her other cats, so the nice neighbor took her to a good shelter.

I was told that she had been adopted twice, but then returned twice, which I thought was odd. She’s so cute and is also sweet and social. But they told me she is very “vocal” and I found out that she sure is! I like to say that she likes to “sing”!

I have never heard a cat sing (yowl) so much.

Perhaps that is why she was returned? I renamed her “Nora” and now she is famous among my friends, especially when I talk to them on the phone. Nora will usually “sing” in the background and they hear it and we have a good laugh. She is really LOUD!

I am so glad that I was able to give an older kitty a second chance at a forever home, especially after the stressful 8 months that she had. And it is so wonderful to have a feline friend again. Nora is a lap cat and sits with me every night when I watch TV. She is my constant companion.