If adopting is an act of love, taking home an animal with special needs is something that transcends this feeling.
Let us introduce you to Aoife, a two-year-old cat that has stolen the hearts of millions of people. The kitten was spotted on Instagram by two incredible hoomans, Sabrina and James. They immediately fell in love with the animal and decided to bring her into their family. However, Aoife is not a usual cat. She was born with a mangled pelvis and has severe hip dysplasia and a huge curve in her spine near the thoracic area. Due to her spinal deformities, she is also incontinent and has to wear a diaper.
Despite her paralysis, Aoife has a good quality of life and has already become a viral sensation with more than 60k followers on Instagram!
Meet Aoife, a fun and feisty cat living in LA with her 5 kitty siblings and 2 hoomans
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Her owners, Sabrina and James, found the kitten on Instagram when she was around 2 weeks old
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Sabrina and James immediately fell in love with the kitten and decided to adopt her
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Unfortunately, Aoife was born paralyzed and cannot move her back legs
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Aoife's owners think that the cat was born this way. She has severe hip dysplasia and a huge curve in her spine near the thoracic area
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
She has to wear a diaper and have her bowels expelled manually every day
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
According to Sabrina, Aoife is incontinent due to her spinal deformities, so the family has to perform a manual expression of both her bladder and bowel twice a day. She also takes probiotics, Miralax, Uromaxx, and pumpkin.
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Sabrina and James spent 2 months working with Aoife's foster mum to learn how to properly take care of the disabled cat
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Despite being different from other cats, Aoife has a good life and has settled in well at home
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Besides Aoife, Sabrina and James have also adopted 5 other cats, Pebbles, Kevin, Sofia, Ellie Mae and Peter.
The owners revealed that Aoife's favorite activity is eating. "Zoomies are 2nd. Cuddling with mama is 3rd. She’s a bit of a bully at times, but all the cats get along with each other."
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Sabrina started documenting the cat's life at home and posting pictures and videos of Aoife online
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
The cat immediately became an internet sensation
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
At the moment, Aoife is followed by more than 60k people on Instagram
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
"Her followers are very vocal about how much they love her story, but it wasn’t until her first reel hit 1 million views that we realized we had a little star," Sabrina shared.
"She’s stubborn, feisty, fearless and incredibly strong, which makes for hilarious and inspirational videos. We had no idea she would have this much attention though."
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
"Being Aoife's mom is an honor and pure joy"
Image credits: purrfectlyaoife
Sabrina told us that watching Aoife thrive despite her disability has made them appreciate their blessings more, taught them to be kinder, and helped them connect with truly wonderful people!