It takes a big heart to adopt an animal. Unfortunately, there are so many stray cats and dogs sitting and waiting for someone to adopt them at shelters across the world, and not enough humans willing to adopt. In fact, it’s safe to say that shelter cats outweigh the number of people looking to adopt one. Just ask one lonely feline from British Columbia, Canada who had waited and waited seemingly forever but was always getting passed up. So, it totally made sense that feelings of being unwanted and abandoned would ensue. But when a couple walked into the shelter, this cat was finally given something to hope for.The ginger cat is a stray who had to fend for himself, but clearly had a rough time doing it. He suffered deep lacerations, a cauliflower ear, and a crushed spine. Under the circumstances, BenBen had every reason to look sad.
It turns out that the cat has a bunch of excess skin on his face, which makes his face seem like he’s sad. But his human dad admits that no one really knows why this happened, but he does know that it’s permanent.
Unfortunately, due to his medical condition, the family ended up returning BenBen to the shelter. To make things worse, the veterinarians claimed he’d be on pain medications for his entire life, and he wouldn’t be able to walk again.
While euthanizing BenBen seemed like the humane thing to do, a woman working for an ER vet clinic learned of BenBen’s dire condition and decided that she needed to save him no matter what the cost was.
Timing was everything, and fortunately, she was able to speak with the shelter and arrange the adoption a day before the cat was scheduled to be put down. Then, BenBen was taken to what would become his permanent home.
He didn’t move, not even to drink or eat. The woman described the cat’s behavior as if BenBen had simply given up on life and was ready to die. But as soon as they came along and rescued him, everything changed for the better.
The couple had other cats, so they placed BenBen in the bathroom and allowed him some time to get used to his new family and surroundings. For the first time in a long time, he looked up at his human family with hope.
Aside from exploring the areas around the house, he has also become an avid watcher of what his human family eats. Maybe he’s curious to see if they’ll be willing to share some food with him, cause he’s hungry too.
His human parents have set up an account called benbencatcat, so that others can see the miraculous recovery that this kitty has made. He currently has 157,000 followers, and if you’re lucky, he’ll follow you back, when he’s not busy catnapping.
Now he’s just curious about the world around him and is eager to explore both the inside and outside of what the couple calls, “his forever home.” They also claim that it only took an hour for BenBen to liven up as soon as he realized he was safe in his new environment.
The adorable ginger cat is able to walk again, and the woman and his boyfriend have noticed that he has the ability to jump, albeit small distance. That’s certainly a better outcome than what he would have had if he’d stayed in the shelter.
On the inside, this cat is very happy, and his owners know this because he rewards them with purrs, smiles, and cuddles whenever they sit next to him to spend some quality time. If this heartwarming story proves anything, it’s that there’s always hope so long as there are people with warm, caring hearts.
