Sometimes, we don’t choose our pets — our pets choose us. Such was the case with an adorable kitty named Mami, who happened to have some of the saddest eyes we’ve ever seen.
Poor little Mami was found, along with her mom and two brothers, in the dumpster of a high school during the middle of winter; they were surviving by snuggling together for body warmth. Thankfully, rescuers were called to help.
When rescuers arrived, all of the cats seemed grateful to be taken somewhere safe. However, Mami was skeptical. She was very anxious, fearful, and wouldn’t let anyone touch her. She never knew what a kind and gentle touch felt like. Even the shape of her eyes made her look sad and sorrowful.
Mami was put up for adoption, and it only took one look at her sweet, sad face for Sinead Brooks and her husband to fall in love.
“We were not looking for a kitten at the time, but there was no way I could go on without her,” Sinead explained to Love Meow.
After bringing her home, Sinead realized that Mami’s melancholy facial expression matched her personality in the beginning. She was very shy and would constantly hide behind the toilet, refusing to come out or be touched. Sinead was determined to earn the scared little girl’s trust.
It took hours upon hours of coaxing and gentle gestures to finally lure Mami from her shell; she was starting to trust and love people.
“I have had cats my whole life and would get so frustrated sometimes when she would act scared of me or a noise I made. But we did a lot of reading on feral cats and cat behavior and have used that to help understand her and help her,” Sinead said.
With Sinead working from home, Mami started to become more accustomed to noises and movements happening around her. After a few more days, the timid girl decided that she would give cuddling a try! She’s even begun to reach out her paw when she’d like a little affection.
“I am not sure what clicked for her, but she is much more social, very vocal and affectionate with us and visitors.”
Since Mami seemed to be situated and loving her new home, Sinead and her husband decided to introduce another rescue kitty into their household — his name is Morty. It wasn’t long before Morty was helping Mami bloom even more.
“He is a spazzy, energetic, all boy cat and he showed Mami how to really behave like a cat. She watched him let us pick him up and him sleeping on our laps and saw that its safe to do that. They also love and groom each other all the time – its SO cute!”
Sinead and her husband make sure to show Mami lots of love and affection, and now — she can’t seem to get enough.
Even though both cats are doing wonderfully, Sinead knows that building trust with feral cats, like Mami, is a constant and ongoing process. The now 3-year-old kitty has made strides from where she once was, but she still has her hurdles. One thing is for sure, although her eyes might still look sad, she’s definitely a very happy cat.
Both Mami and Morty can be followed on Instagram, and let’s face it— looking at those sweet eyes will never get old.
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