Courtney Bailey from Idaho found a little kitten huddled under a street lamp in a parking lot nearby.
"I found her a little over two months ago, lost and sick outside of my house. She was crying desperately for help," Courtney shared with Love Meow.
They could hear the kitten's cries from the distance. "We assume that someone had just recently dropped her off and she was traumatized."
Courtney tried to get closer to the kitten but the little one flinched in fear. "It took a while to coax her to me, but when I did, she immediately stopped crying and began to purr."
The kitten was just skin and bones, weighing at one and a half pounds. She was terribly dehydrated, had an eye infection and a severe UTI (Urinary Tract Infection), which had caused her a lot of pain.
They spent a whole day trying to rehydrate the scrawny little kitty and get some food in her belly. With lots of fluids, food and medication for her eye, she felt much better the next day.
"The bloody urine stopped. Her eye was really producing less goo. I decided to give her a bath in an attempt to rehydrate her through the skin. The moment she touched the water, it began to turn grey," Courtney said.
Just when they thought the kitten was getting better, her body suddenly shut down. She was so weak that she couldn't eat or drink.
Courtney had one thing in mind - that was to do everything in her power to save the kitten. "There were a few nights that I thought that I was going to lose her, but she showed me just how strong she really is."
"Many force feedings, fluid pumping, and antibiotics later, you'd never be able to tell that she was ever sick," Courtney said.
One day, while Courtney was preparing medicine, the kitten suddenly got up on her paws and began to walk. "She was still very weak, but wanting to follow me around for the first time in days. She even began to eat on her own again."
A surge of joy came upon the whole family as they saw the little fighter bounce back from the brink.
With lots of TLC, the kitten continued to improve. "Day by day, that eye began to peek open, and she started to feel more like a playful kitten and began packing on weight," Courtney said.
A healthy kitty is a happy kitty!
"Every day when I get up, she wakes and stretches with me. She developed a routine of following me into the bathroom after breakfast to play in the sink while I prepare for my day," Courtney shared with Love Meow.
"She learned almost immediately that my alarm meant that it was time to wake up. Now if I ignore it, she insists on waking me herself."
When Reese was ready to meet their resident cat and dog, Sir, the tuxedo kitty, took her under his wing.
"It was clear that they would be best friends for life. He even made sure that the dog wouldn't get too close to 'his' kitty," Courtney said.
Her personality is shining through!
"She began carrying toys around the house. She even joined us for dinner one night and dropped her toy right into the spaghetti to share."
In just one month, Reese doubled in size and tripled her personality.
This little kitty is now ruling the roost in her house.
"She fetches her toys, plays in the sink, and gently wakes me up every morning for snuggles," Courtney said.
Reese has blossomed into a beautiful kitty with a lot of fluff and adorable ear tufts
Courtney gave the kitten a home that she had always wanted. Now she's returning the favor by being her constant companion.
"I never thought in my life that I'd wake up to go shower and find that a kitten was chasing me across the house with a toy in their mouth," Courtney said.
"Reese is an absolute joy to have around all the time."
Follow Reese and her adventures on Instagram @torbiereese.
Keeping her tail cleaned.
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