Nobody is sure how the 6-week-old cat wound up on the side of a Tennessee highway. Whatever had happened, the kitten was paralyzed from the waist down, and was eventually called Jesse the Wonder Cat (or Jesse for short).
Fortunately, Jesse was discovered, scooped up, and taken to the Cat Clinic of Chattanooga.
The vet team checked Jesse at the clinic and determined he had significant spinal damagе. Even though he’d never be able to use his back legs again, experts believed he’d have a high quality of life.
Jennifer Allen, assistant manager and vet technician at Cat Clinic of Chattanooga, told The Dodo, “He was happy and he could feed on his own.” “He wasn’t in any discomfort.”
Initially, the clinic staff was going to find Jesse a permanent home, but the staff quickly realized it would make sense for him to stay at the clinic.
After all, Jesse needed physical therapy sessions, acupuncture and medication for asthma and heart issues, and it was easy for Jesse to get the care he needed at the clinic itself.
Besides, the clinic staff had fallen in love with Jesse, especially Allen.
Allen said, “I grew very, truly linked and devoted.” “But he adores everyone, and he makes so many people happy and laugh, and it’s always a good day at work when he’s there. He took on the role as our mascot.”
Then, last year, Jesse met his soul brother – another special needs kitten named Willie.
“A lady called us and said she had a paralyzed kitten whom someone had put in a box and left on her porch,” Allen said.
The woman didn’t seem to know about Jesse, so she got the surprise of her life when she met him.
Allen explained, “I happened to stroll up front with Jesse on my arm exactly when she stepped in.” “‘Hey, I’m the lady who phoned, and I have a paralyzed cat,’ she explained. ‘We do, too,’ I responded. She appeared ecstatic that there was already one there, and that we’d be able to care for him.”
Willie was born with his condition, whilst Jesse was paralyzed due to an injury. Aside from this distinction, the cats are physically identical; they both drag themselves over the ground with their front paws and require equal levels of care. Willie also seemed to take on Jesse’s personality over time, according to Allen.
Jesse immediately seemed to recognize his affinity with Willie, and he quickly tried to make friends. Willie, however, wasn’t too sure about Jesse at first, and there was a lot of hissing and spitting in the first few days.
That soon changed. “It only took about a week for Willie to warm up to Jesse and start sitting on his bed with him,” Allen added.
“I always catch them wrestling and cuddling,” Allen added. “They both likе playing in boxes or in any type of bed they can get into. Ping pong balls are also a favorite pastime of theirs. They’re both chasing those people throughout the clinic. They’re both basically dragging their butts along.”
“When he first came to us, Willie was scared, and a little reserved,” Allen said. “He just wanted to be held. Now he hates being held because he’s too busy with all of his daily activities.”
Jesse and Willie help others in the same way.
“When folks here are depressed, Jesse is also incredibly empathetic,” Allen said. “He’s been observed meowing at the door of an exam room because he can hear people sobbing or unhappy inside.
Willie has never done anything likе that, but he does appear to have the same level of compassion, approaching individuals as they exit the room to make them feel better.
It’s heartbreaking to watch someone so devastated over their own cat, but after witnessing how tough and joyful Jesse and Willie are, they leave with a grin on their face.”
“I know they’re probably not going to live to be 15-year-old cats, but we want them to be happy and healthy as long as we can keep them that way,” Allen said.
To see more cute photos of this dynamic duo, you can follow Jesse’s and Willie’s individual Facebook pages.
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