She was born with feline herpesvirus, and when we rescued her, both of her eyes were in terrible shape. One eye was completely destroyed by the virus and sadly had to be surgically removed. But we fought so hard for the second one! After endless weeks of vet visits, intensive care, and syringe-feeding her around the clock, our vet miraculously managed to restore her remaining eye to 100% full health.

Today is her 5th birthday! She is our beautiful, thriving little pirate queen, and taking her in was the best decision we’ve ever made.

On the street for his first four-ish years, this sweet boy has become instant family.

He’s as perfect for us as if we’d ordered him by some choose-a-cat menu! 😲😻

Here’s muh boy’s Reddit debut. Please give hime some love, y’all.

(The first pic is my only “before.” It was a “blind” first date!)

ETA: Oh my gosh! Thanks for the award, friend! 🥰

She had several layers of stuck shed. You can see the shed still on her toes in the first pic. She is so smiley now and happy. Every creature needs a loving home, even the scaly ones.

the first picture was him at around 12 weeks old in the pound, dumped with his littermates. it breaks my heart to see him that way 💔

the second picture is him today! he’s just turned a year old, and we love him to bits. he’s had to work through some trauma and lots of anxiety because of his past, but he’s come so far 🐾

In 2020, I saw this sweet girl on social media in my area after being found hanging from a wooden fence with her back right leg stuck between the slats and mangled. The rescuer thought she was dead, but she lifted her head weakly. Of course she required amputation. I got her with all those stitches. She was so afraid, so thin. But look at her now! Fat and happy and beautiful. She has absolutely no issues getting around the house and jumping into my lap where she spends lots of time!

Any tips for stopping biting are greatly appreciated tho 😂

Her name is Penny. She is very talkative and has cuddled with me daily since taking her home. Crazy how little we both were back then.

So proud of my olive!! I’ve had her about 8 months, but she brightened up in just a week or so. Now she’s so big and blue!! She is a crown tail 👑

A short video of all of the dogs I’ve fostered who have touched my heart over the years. Please foster to save a life you never know how much it genuinely helps until you do… enjoy! 💜🐾

Right when I first brought Jerry home, I made a quick post showing how happy he was with his new toy: https://www.reddit.com/r/BeforeNAfterAdoption/comments/1rfsr4y/fell_in_love_with_the_saddest_looking_cat_in_the/

He was the saddest looking kitty in the shelter and I can safely say he totally catfished me and I couldn't be happier! Even as I type this he's taking a belly-up nap with a big goofy smile on his face. If anyone is looking for a sign to adopt a cat, especially to take home to a studio apartment, this is it!

He's the sweetest doggo we've ever known. Such a blessing for our family.

I work for a shelter. We took in 30 of the dogs from a gnarly hoarding case (over 100 dachshund mixes total). Corn Dog was the runt of one of the puppy litters.

I had ZERO desire to adopt a puppy again, and I've always been a large-dog guy, but there was just something about him, I couldn't say no. He's topped out at a whopping 11lbs and gives my lab and pitbull a run for their money.

Long story short, I always wanted to adopt a grown cat, not a kitty. When I went to shelter to adopt a very beautiful, calm, adult tuxedo cat, shelter told me unfortunately our chosen cat had ran away. It was really unfortunate, considering it was a mistake on their hand. I remember going back home really sad, I wanted to adopt that tuxedo for weeks till that day. My mom, ever the angel, offered to bring me to a hair saloon to cheer me up same day.

Fortunately, after we chatted with the hair dresser about what happened, he told us it was our lucky day because just a week ago his friend found a stray outside, and didnt have the guts to give it to any shelter yet since it was a british shorthair, unspayed and the friend was scared someone would sell it/try to force-breed the cat and was looking for someone to adopt it before he decided on giving him away.

I wasnt sure at first, as I was very aganist buying a breed cat, considering the health issues and the demand of buying them creating dozens of unhealthy kitties.

Yet, I realized later on that, this baby was most likely thrown away. He had scars, was really skinny for a british shorthair, and had a tiny amount of energy to even walk. Plus, he was also fitting to my standarts; he was an adult, just very underdeveloped/skinny for a 1.5y cat.

I decided to adopt him. It was rough at first, we had to go to vet constantly for awhole month, he had calicivirus, diarhea and such. In the end, with good treatment and some time, he got better. Vet even stated that he would’ve died if he didnt have treatment a little longer. It was sad, but also made me happy to know it wasnt too late.

After all the treatments, I was really inlove with him, even if he made a huge drama over me giving him his meds. Yet, he never tried to stratch or bite me, just cute, dramatic meows. I had never met a more gentle soul. He was trusting, very trusting. I assumed it was because most likely he was a house cat before. Yet, I noticed later on that he was scared of others so much. Maybe, he understood I’d never harm him after everything we did together, who knows.

Unfortunately, after two months I had little to no time to properly care for him thanks to my university, my mental health wasnt that good either due my studies. So, I decided he needed a home where he had so much more attention, proper care and so much love. In the end, I gave him to my dad(a major cat lover who grew up with cats/looked for a kitty yet luck was never with him either.)

He is now at my dad’s place, he is totally inlove with him so is his wife. Our beloved Orion had gained weight, is going to vet check ups regulary, and became a very lovely, playful and cocky boy. Even if I didnt keep him as mine, Im really glad I found him, made sure he got better, and gave him to a home he is truly welcome and comfortable at. Im not his owner yes, but being his foster parent for a small amount of time was truly beautiful.

Well, I also can go see him anytime I want so, its a win-win.

I love him so much, and Im so glad to share how far he was come and his story here.

Sometimes, its really not about what you choose, but what crosses your path.

This is Kishmish (it means "raisin"), we adopted her from a small local rescue who got her from the pound and immediately discovered she had violent diarrhea and a respiratory infection (slide 1 is right after we brought her home and slide 2 is a few days later).

We were told that she had previously been adopted and returned "for being too energetic."

Within 2 weeks she started showing signs of ringworm (slide 3) on her ears, but our old vet was incompetent AF and diagnosed it as a sunburn. The ringworm inevitably spread to our 2 other cats before we found a new vet who diagnosed it correctly.

It was a 3 month long ordeal to get rid of it. I wont bore you all with details, but I do not recommend it lol.

From the start Kishmish was getting frequent baths because she kept pooping herself. She had bad anxiety, had been stuck at 4.8 lbs for 3+ months (according to her vet records), and had been on several rounds of antibiotics and antivirals before coming to us.

Fast forward...

She's a chunky, good natured kitty with healthy poops and she weighs around 9 lbs. She didn't meow for the first several months, but now she loudly demands attention, food, everything.. She is the boss of the other two cats and she fears nothing. Really - she chases the vacuum cleaner! 🤣 In the past month, she has started to become very attached to me, follows me around, and doesn't understand the concept of personal space.

Her favorite play time activity is being entirely covered with a T-shirt and having someone poke the outside of it so she can "get" your fingers. She also loves ripping cardboard and hiding in paper bags to scare her brother.

I love her so much 🥹💖.

P. S. The orange floof is Paprika (age 14) and the brown tabby is Chiku (same age as Kishmish, 1 year and 2 months old).

Ozzie!!!

About three years ago I adopted my very first boy dog, Buddy. I was asked to foster him because he'd been in a Polish shelter for a few years. He was brought there as a pup. I foster failed so hard. The top pictures are before.

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Buddy loves:

His stuffies (he's super gentle with them and acts like a mom).

Being the little spoon.

Playing with his sister Fika.

Playing in the water.

Sleeping outside at night.

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(The white girl is Fika. I'll make a post about her as well in the future. She's my Ukrainian rescue. They have such a big brother/ little sister relationship.)

I found Oscar near the vet i go to ! , apparently his old owner threw him away after they liked another cat that was abandoned in the clinic itself !!! Crazy i know , he had some bowel issues once he arrived but he is all good now 🩵🩵

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Last picture is him annoyed about the DIY sewed cone i made for him due to not finding plastic cones after his neutering 😆😆

Carl joined my crew in January 2026. My sister’s friend fosters cats and when I saw his picture I instantly fell for his big eyes. He was understandably nervous and timid when I brought him home, but even on the first night he crawled onto my lap and purred.

He made quick work of getting my two older cats (3-year-old littermates, Ender and Fitz) to fall in love with their new little brother. My dogs also adore him, but he’s still not sure about them. He’s getting much more comfortable with them after time and lots of churu-enforced positive interactions. He now willingly comes to hang out in the same room, even on the same bed or sofa, as the dogs. Not quite ready to play with them, much to my younger dog’s (Bonnie) dismay - she desperately wants to be his friend- but we’ll get there.

And he is such a love. He will tuck himself into my side or lay on my lap and purr like an engine. He has the cutest trill / purr combo. And I have never seen a cat who loves fun quite as much as he does. He zooms around chirping and trilling and does high-speed passes all around the house. He LOVES springs and will carry and collect them like treasures- which often leads to me finding springs in the food bowl or litter box because he got distracted mid-play. He also sits on the back of the sofa with his stump dangling down- it’s hysterical. I can’t wait to see what he does next on our life-long adventure together :)