A resilient kitten who's been through the toughest of times now has loving parents.
Braille the kitten was found abandoned in Philadelphia last month, and was dropped off at the Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia. The cat, who's just a few weeks old, was in awful shape and had an upper respiratory infection so severe, it caused one eye to be crusted shut and the other to be bulging out of the socket.
Though the feline was extremely ill, Sara Konnecke, who works at ACCT Philadelphia, wouldn't give up on the cat and together with her girlfriend, Erin Signor, decided to foster the cat and give Braille the TLC and medical attention the kitten deserved.
Signor told The Huffington Post when Braille was discovered, she was also extremely underweight and covered in fleas. Her respiratory issues required a great deal of attention.
"Her condition required us to put hot compresses, saline solution and tobramycin drops in her eyes every four hours, in addition to giving amoxicillin orally twice a day," Signor explained. "It was painful and difficult for her to eat and breathe, and she was permanently shaky the first three or four days of care."
Seeing the kitten in such poor condition was difficult on the couple.
"I actually cried for hours because of how lethargic and distressed the poor kitten was. We honestly had no idea if she would make it," Signor said. "Sara assured me that she had seen kittens pull through incidents like this, and she was determined that we could save her."
Braille ended up receiving bilateral enucleation surgery, or the removal of her eyes, after her right eye ruptured due to a "particularly vicious sneeze." She later had a follow-up procedure to remove extra dead tissue and sanitize the wound, and she's been making strides in her recovery, thanks to the care and attention of her foster moms.
"We took her back home and she purred for the first time ever once she was taken out of her crate," Signor said. "It was almost as if we had brought home a new kitten! She has been improving and trying new things every day since."
Though she's unable to see, that hasn't kept her personality from shining bright.
"She actually has an adorable little personality! She really loves to jump while she’s playing. She also really loves high places, or little spaces she can fit onto -- like shoulders, the back of the couch or in the crook of our elbows while we walk around," Signor said.
Now that Braille is recovering, she's entered a new, happy chapter in her life.
"Since all of her conditions have been addressed so early on, she will most likely just be a regular, healthy, blind cat!" Signor told HuffPost.
Braille isn't up for adoption yet, but Signor has an idea or two about who's down to give the feline a forever home.
"Once she is spayed and has fully recovered in a few months, she will technically be up for adoption but we fully intend on never letting her go," the proud owner said. "She’s ours—for sure!"
To learn more about ACCT Philadelphia, check out its website here.
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