Maya the cat sadly has a chromosomal abnormality, but that doesn’t stop her from being fabulous!
This is Maya!
Maya the cat was living at Odd Cat Sanctuary, which is a foster rescue that focuses on saving the lives of all cats in need, especially feral, sick cats, senior cats, and the cats on death row… basically, “The Odd Cat.”
“I was following Odd Cat Sanctuary on Facebook when I saw her post, and we applied to adopt her that night,” Lauren explained to iizcat.
“Then her post had gone semi-viral, and we found out thousands of other families applied for her, too. The process took around 6 weeks with a bunch of interviews and a home visit. But Odd Cat Sanctuary is great, and do their best make sure their pets go to the right homes. We met Maya (formerly named Sugarplum) at her foster and took her home that day.”
“We do not know much about her past. But we’re thinking she’s about a year old. Maybe a little older, maybe a little younger. She’s pretty tiny (8 lbs tops), but she’s got huge feet and whiskers.”
When I Iz Cat asked how they knew Maya was the cat for their family, Lauren felt an immediate connection.
“I’ve actually coached a Special Olympics team nearly every Saturday since I was 12, and I just really love spending time with people with disabilities,” Lauren told iizcat. “I saw on the Odd Cat Sanctuary’s page that Maya had a chromosomal abnormality akin to Down Syndrome in humans, and felt an immediate connection.”
“Maya’s just like any cat,” stated Harrison. “She’s of smaller stature, and some think she will be more kitten-like forever (developmentally). She has slight vision issues (she is cross-eyed, after all), and due to her nasal structure, she tends to get stuffy a lot. It’s actually adorable. Every time she gets out-of-breath, she sneezes like 15 times in a row.
But she is not shy, talks a ton, and is super playful.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYMV4FAHrC_/
Lauren and Harrison have actually been in contact with Monty, who is another famous cat who’s just like Maya, and his family. They’ve been super helpful and supportive.
“People need to know two things about Maya and cats like her. The first is that she’s just a normal cat. Like all disabilities, those living with them are doing just that—living with them. She’s more than her disability—even if it does make her look adorably different,” Lauren went on to say.
“The second is that a chromosomal abnormality is not a disease. We get comments all the time like “I hope they find a cure” or “I am praying for her”. There’s no need to pray for her. She’s happy, she’s healthy, she’s very well-loved, and she doesn’t know any different.”
“And we were not expecting her to become this popular! We created this Instagram because she had so many fans from before we adopted her who wanted to see updates. And since then, it’s been crazy!”
“But we also know that it’s a commitment. No matter what health issues arise, you’ve got to be there for them. And we’re definitely here for her.”
Maya now resides in the perfect home with parents that love her no matter what.
Be sure follow Maya on Instagram right meow @meetmayacat to see more kitty cuteness!
Photo credits: @meetmayacat │ www.iizcat.com
