Donny was discovered as a kitten wandering around a parking lot, unwell and in dire need of assistance. He was rescued by the North Shore Animal League America in New York, where employees worked tirelessly to rehabilitate him. Unfortunately, Donny’s eyes were undeveloped and useless to him, so his saviours decided to have them removed.
Not long after his surgery, it was discovered that Donny also suffers from cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological condition that causes him severe balance issues. The blind, wobbly cat was put into a foster home with Beth Stern, an avid fosterer, to wait for his forever family to find him. While it can sometimes be harder to find homes for special needs animals, it didn’t take long for the perfect person to stumble across Donny.
Susan Smith was scrolling through Instagram in March 2016 when she saw a post about Donny and instantly fell in love with him. Even though she and her husband weren’t looking to adopt another cat, they decided to go and meet him anyway — and when they did, they immediately knew he was coming home with them.
“He was wobbling and bumping into things but just kept running around,” Smith told The Dodo. “He would fall down but get right back up with the most incredible spirit I’d ever seen. Life had thrown him a double whammy but he was the happiest guy we’d ever met. That was a Friday night and I picked him up on Sunday morning.”
From the minute Donny arrived at his new home, his mom could tell there was something special about him. Right from the very beginning, he’s been the most loving, gentle cat, and always shocks his family with how laid-back and happy he is.
Despite everything he’s been through, he seems to have no idea he’s any different, and powers through each challenge life throws at him as if he never noticed it was a challenge to begin with.
“He has no awareness he’s different,” Smith explained, “so he does what everyone else does, which includes going to the highest perch on the cat tree and then tumbling off when he wants to come down.” “That’s why I’ve got cushions and mats all over my floor.”
He’s at the front window when he hears me arrive home from work, then he falls on a mat and waits by the front door.”
Everyone who meets Donny comments on how easygoing he is, so his mom decided to try enrolling him as a therapy cat. She knew he had the right temperament to be handled by people and hoped the role would be a good fit for him — but could have never imagined just how much he was meant to do this.
Donny mostly visits Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, but he may soon begin working in libraries and schools as well. His primary role as a therapy cat is to bond with patients by sitting in their laps and providing much-needed comfort, and he appears to genuinely enjoy it.
“As soon as we get there, he transforms into a whole other cat,” Smith explained. “I swear he knows he’s got a big job on his hands.” He would never sit on someone’s lap for so long if we were at home.”
When Donny’s grandmother (Smith’s mother) was diagnosed with lung cancer and began spending a lot of time in the hospital, Smith knew exactly who to call to make her feel better. She began taking Donny to the hospital on a daily basis to see his grandmother, and it was amazing how much the adorable blind cat appeared to help her.
Donny’s grandmother’s cancer was initially very aggressive, but it miraculously shrank far faster than the family expected, and she is now cancer-free. Donny kept his grandmother’s spirits up while she was in the hospital and recovering at home, and his mother believes this contributed to her general health.
Smith described them as “very bonded to each other.” “She couldn’t get enough of watching him glide around her house without colliding with anything.”
Donny has no idea that his life has been a little more difficult than other cats’ lives, and his cheerful demeanour inspires people every day. He enjoys demonstrating to others that everything is possible, and through his job as the world’s finest therapy cat, he will continue to assist and support everyone around him.
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