Twist

Lonely street cat with no ears meets best friend and finds a loving home

By Nala Cat
April 11th, 2021

For stay animals, life can be pretty hard. From having to scrounge for food, to sleeping outside in the cold, it seems like a lonely and tough life. And there are some animals with medical conditions, who don’t have owners to help them get treatment. If it hadn’t been for kind people, that would have been the story of one special stray cat.

Meet Potato, the shelter cat.

Potato was a street cat in Hong Kong. Although he was a street cat, he and the other neighborhood kitties were fed and cared for by an elderly woman. When she died, these cats had nowhere to go, and they wound up truly alone in an animal shelter.

Eventually, all the other cats from this group were adopted, including one cat named Horlick, but no one came for Potato. After living happily with Horlick for a few months, his new owners started thinking that maybe he was lonely. They realized that Potato was still up for adoption.

Potato was so close to having a home, but there were still problems.

Potato was not their idea of a cute cuddly kitty. The owners describe him by saying “with one eye often smaller and a wry mouth, Potato looked more like a gangster than a cute little kitten.” But Potato and Horlick remembered each other from their street cat days and they got along like brothers, so the owners went for it and gave Potato a chance.

To make matters worse, when the couple decided to adopt Potato, they were informed that he had a rare ear condition, ceruminous adenoma. According to Darren Berger, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University, ceruminous adenoma results in the appearance of lesions and tumors along the cats ears and ear canals. This is a serious disease that can really damage a cat’s health. Fixing this requires an expensive surgery.

When Potato’s owners started a fundraiser to pay for surgery, people pitched in.

Eventually, thanks to the donations of all sorts of people, they raised enough money to pay for the surgery that removed Potato’s ears and ear canals. Potato’s surgery went well and he began recovering quickly!

Describing his new, ear-less look, Potato’s parents say, “it looks like putting a pair of big eyes, a tiny nose and mouth, on a small diamond, which was quite funny…” And, they could bring Potato home from the hospital!

After the surgery, things are looking up for Potato.

The vet confirmed that Potato’s tumors were non-cancerous, so he was officially in the clear! He is now free live life like a healthy kitty, to roam around at home, and play and cuddle with Horlick as much as he wants.

Adding to his happy new life, Potato has become famous and beloved around the world. His parents started an Instagram to celebrate him and his story. As of April 2021, he has 15 thousand followers, who send him well-wishes and delight in his story.

Potato’s story shows us how much love and dedication can change a life.

Potato’s parents never gave up on him, and did everything they could to get him healthy and ensure him a better life. Potato has come a long way from being the homeless, sick, kitty he was, and it’s heartening to watch him happy now. It is thanks to many loving and patient people that Potato’s story is able to end happily.

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Source: Clinician’s Brief, No_Ear_Meow_Potato

About the Author
Nala Cat
Hi, My name is Nala. I am 7 years old. I am a siamese mix with tabby. I was left at animal shelter when I was 5 months. But I have a loving home now :)
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