A white kitten was dropped at a pound labeled "defective" and marked high-risk due to an enlarged heart. The kitten who came out the other side has turned into perhaps the most loving little cat his rescuers have ever met.
Big HeartCredit: Heather T
Big Heart lives up to his name in every sense, figuratively and quite literally. He was born with a congenital heart condition, and one part of it means his heart is actually enlarged, which is where his name comes from.
That condition is also what nearly ended his story before it began. He was surrendered to a pound with the claim that he was defective and should be put down, a death sentence handed to a kitten who had done nothing but be born a little different.
His story was never going to end there, though, because the right person saw him in time.
Safe at last, the day his real life beganCredit: Heather T
The director of Love Your Feral Felines spotted Big Heart and refused to let him go. She fought for him, secured the approval needed to pull him out, and got the tiny patient the second chance no one at the pound had been willing to give.
That was only the first hurdle. The next was getting him safely neutered, with everyone hoping his delicate heart would handle it. He came through the procedure like a champion, then rode out the hour-long drive to his foster home like a seasoned traveler, taking the biggest week of his short life completely in stride.
Gentle, but play time around the cornerCredit: Heather T
Settled into foster care, Big Heart has been, by every account, a dream. His foster, Heather T. of The 2 Pound Kitten Club, keeps his play gentle and his world calm to protect his heart, and the remarkable thing is that he seems to understand his own limits.
Hop Hop! Credit: Heather T
Give him a string to chase and his careful, happy nature shows itself. "He is self-regulating so he doesn't overdo it to make his heart work too hard," Heather shared with LoveMeow, and sure enough, he plays with real delight and then eases off on his own, never pushing past what his heart can handle. In every other way, he is a normal, happy kitten having a completely normal, happy time.
I know I'm cuteCredit: Heather T
What has moved Heather most is his gentle, grateful spirit. "He is so calm and mellow. You can tell he's so appreciative," she shared with our team, of a kitten who came within hours of the unthinkable and now seems to savor every soft moment.
After the fear of the shelter, he soaks up every bit of safety and affection he is offered. He loves nothing more than to be held, melting into any willing pair of arms with what Heather calls "the sweetest purr," his fur as soft as a bunny's.
Out cold and completely at easeCredit: Heather T
There is a tenderness to the way he loves, a sense that this small survivor treasures every gentle moment he is given. Heather is convinced he knows, in some way, that he was saved.
She has a favorite way of putting it. Having an enlarged heart, she says, means he has all the more love to give and receive, and he gives it generously.
You're a friend! Credit: Heather T
Calm as he is now, Big Heart did not start out trusting the dogs in the house. In his first week, he wanted nothing to do with them, and Heather was sure that feeling would never change.
Then, little by little, he came around. "If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe it! Big Heart has come around to dogs!!! I was thinking there was NO way he'd ever be comfortable around them based on his reaction his first week here. But now he's buddies with our big dufus!" Heather shared.
Those big eyes have already seen more than mostCredit: Heather T
The kitten who arrived wary and overwhelmed now takes new friends, even much larger, four-legged kind. Very little seems to rattle him anymore, which is its own small miracle given where he started.
Every chapter of Big Heart's new story was written by people who refused to see him as anything less than worthy. The director who battled to save him, the team who carried him through his neuter, and Heather, who has devoted herself to his comfort, now have surrounded him with fierce, tender care at every turn.
Resting easy, exactly as he shouldCredit: Heather T
That care will follow him into whatever comes next. He will stay in foster a little longer before he becomes available to the right family. When that time comes, the rescue will make sure his adopter understands everything about his heart, so they can welcome him with their eyes open and their arms ready.
His condition is one he will live with for the rest of his life, and no one can say how long that will be. His rescuers hold tight to a single certainty, in Heather's words, "whether his journey lasts fifteen years or fifteen days, every moment of it will be filled with comfort, happiness, and an abundance of love."
Still plenty of chapters left in his bookCredit: Heather T
For a kitten who was given a day to live, Big Heart is spending every one he has exactly the way he should: warm, safe, and loved without limit.
Share this story with your friends. View more on Big Heart and Love Your Feral Felines on Facebook and Instagram @loveyourferalfelines. Follow along with his foster, Heather, at @the2poundkittenclub, and under the hashtag #lyffbigheart.
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