Matilda’s story is one for the books. Hart2Heart was called to rescue several cats who were abandoned when their owner died.  The situation was dire; the owner was a hoarder. There were many cats, some alive, some dead and some barely hanging on. Matilda was rushed to a veterinarian where she received fluids and they began to assess her situation. She was severely malnourished, had a severe respiratory infection and a tumor in her mouth. She made it through the surgery and started her recovery, but not without battle scars. Millie is a long-haired cat, but they were forced to shave her fur because it was so matted. They described it as a “tortoise shell.”  Her entire bottom lip was removed along with her bottom teeth.  As a result, she drools, breathes very loudly and snores when she sleeps. Sharon texted, “Could you take her while she recovers? The other cats pick on her and won’t let her eat.” “Of course we will. When can we get her?”

When we first saw her, our hearts shattered. She ran under the bookcase in our spare bedroom, and we didn’t see her for days. We knew she was there - she was eating, using the litter box and if you were quiet, you could hear her labored and loud breathing. With some time, treats, and lots of coaxing, we finally got her to come out. The first time she let us pet her, we cried.  She was such an imperfectly beautiful creature. Had she ever known the love and affection of a human?  We moved her into MaryKate’s bedroom and that first night she awoke to Matilda standing on her chest sniffing her nose but managed to stay still so as not to scare her.  Three days after taking her in, she was spending every waking minute on MaryKate’s lap. 

While she’s many things, Matilda, Millie for short, is not a show cat. She still drools a bit, she has bald spots on her forehead, an abnormally long tail, and she snores. People who meet her think she is ‘funny’ looking.  However, her personality is unmatched. She loves people and warms up to anyone within minutes. Her favorite thing to do is push her face into your face, almost as if she wants a kiss. Not only is she cuddly, but she’s hilarious, too. She refuses to play with actual cat toys, but loves to attack clothes, paper towels, and headbands. She has figured out how to open doors by clinging onto the doorknob and pushing on the wall with her back paws. She’s the perfect cat, and anyone who gets the pleasure of meeting her is so incredibly lucky. Millie’s spunky personality and heartwarming story resulted in our decision to adopt her ourselves. She’s our ‘foster-fail' and each day we find another reason to love her more than the day before.