A kitten with a "wink" curled up in her rescuer's arms after she was brought back from the brink.
A kitten named Maple was found as a stray along with her brother Egg, and brought to a shelter, in need of rescue. At four weeks old, they were extremely emaciated.
Amanda, founder of Kitten Rescue Life (in Oceanside, California), learned about their plight and stepped up to help. "Because of their frailness, I believe they had been without their mom for a long time," Amanda told Love Meow.
She took the pair of feline siblings home and worked around the clock to save them. Over the next few days, the kittens' upper respiratory infection continued to worsen. Amanda spent countless sleepless nights trying to keep them alive.
Maple, who developed a severe eye infection, pulled through, while her brother sadly lost his fight. Even though they couldn't save her bad eye, they were able to bring her back from the brink.
The little warrior kitty was determined to live. With round-the-clock care and medication, she started to put on weight and gain strength. As soon as she got her energy back, she was playing, climbing things and running around again.
"I had a moment the other night when she was laying between us in bed, playing and acting like a normal kitten," Amanda added.
"It was that moment you hope for when you're nursing sick kittens to health. That 'we made it' moment that makes it all worth it. I felt so lucky."
Every time, Maple reached a milestone, they celebrated it with her. They were so proud when she finally hit the two-pound mark.
"I remember when I first had her at 277 grams, just skin and bones," Amanda said. "Fast forward to today and she's so chunky she can't get up from a laying position without rolling side to side to gain momentum."
Two months after the rescue, Maple looked like a new kitten.
"She is extremely energetic and independent. She's feisty, confident, and playful, a force to be reckoned with. She runs the house and even our adult resident cats bend to her will," Amanda told Love Meow.
"Maple was so sassy as a young kitten but the older she gets the more affectionate she becomes."
Watch Maple in this sweet video:
The little former stray has come a long way since she was rescued from life on the street.
"We are waiting for her to gain a little more weight so she can have her bad eye removed (to prevent infections)," Amanda told Love Meow.
Maple is a proud one-eyed kitty, and doesn't let anything stop her.
"She uses her good eye to send her messages loud and clear!"
She is soaking up the love every day, cuddling with her humans, doing what she does best.
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