In 2017, Virginia couple Nathaniel and Elliot Green decided that they wanted to bring a cat into their home. They heard from a friend about an event called “Free Cat Friday” at the Lynchburg Humane Society, and they decided to check it out.
At first, Nathaniel and Elliot planned to adopt a Siamese kitten. But by the time they got to the event, all of the Siamese cats were adopted.
The couple was upset about this at first, but they decided to look around the shelter and see if there were any other cats that caught their eye. A shelter worker noticed the couple wandering around, and she offered to show them her favorite cat. She showed them a tiny Napoleon cat with stunning white-blue eyes.
“She took us to the medical wing to show us this little kitten who was recovering from a head cold,” Elliot told Bored Panda.
Nathaniel and Elliot liked the cat, but they had a few reservations about adopting him at first.
“When I was first told that he was blind, I was a bit worried,” Elliot said. “As a full-time student also working two jobs, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to provide Merlin with the attention he needed. As soon as I got to hold him, I think it was pretty obvious that he was perfect.”
Nathaniel and Elliot took the cat home and named him Merlin. They quickly fell in love with the energetic kitten.
“Because he was born blind, he really has no concept of fear and so he’ll attempt to jump off of pretty high places…His preferred place is on someone’s lap,” Elliot said.
When the Greens first brought Merlin home, he unfortunately had a few health issues. He regularly had seizures, and his worried parents weren’t sure why. They did some research, and they realized he was allergic to wheat. They switched to wheat-free cat food, and thankfully, Merlin has been fine ever since!
Elliot and Nathaniel are both visual artists and photographers, and so they decided they wanted to start an Instagram page for their beautiful cat.
The Instagram page quickly received over 100,000 followers, and Elliot and Nathaniel were amazed by the response to their cat.
“Friends keep telling us that they see Merlin’s pictures all over–it’s just mind-blowing,” Nathaniel said.
Merlin has now lived with the Greens for over two years. Nathaniel and Elliot are both loving life with little Merlin, and they’re so happy the shelter staff at Lynchburg Animal Society introduced them to the cat.
“We’re grateful for animal shelters and the selfless, essential work they continue to do,” Nathaniel said.
Merlin is a sweet cat who has found a great place to call home! If you want to see more photos of Merlin, check out his Instagram page.
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