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In February 2014, our 17-year-old Miniature Pinscher, Luna, passed away. My mom and I thought we would never have another furry daughter or son. However, on March 10, I learned about an adoption campaign held by a local animal rescue foundation and headed over just to check it out.

Photo: Ana Maria Mejia

For a reason I still do not understand, I asked whether I could see the adult cats. We had never had a cat in our lives before. We considered ourselves “dog people.”

Then I met Katiuska.

She was lying on a chair. When I stepped closer, she looked at me, stretched, jumped onto my lap, and stayed there. I knew she had to come home with me.

When I asked about Katiuska’s past, I was told that she was about a year old. She had been rescued from the streets while pregnant, completely famished, and suffering from a skin fungus that caused her fur to fall out.

Thankfully, she gave birth at the shelter, and her babies were healthy. However, she developed a very serious antibiotic-resistant case of mastitis and barely survived. She was still recovering when I met her.

The veterinarian told me, “She has an amazing will to keep living. An infection that severe could have killed her, but here she is.”

When I brought Katiuska to her new home, she was a skinny cat with barely three hairs on her. She was as shy as a squirrel and afraid of her own shadow.

She eventually outgrew those fears. Today, she is what Jackson Galaxy calls a “mojito cat.” When visitors arrive, Katiuska is the first one at the door. She loves to snuggle and be petted, especially by friendly visitors. She cannot stay away from the television, and she loves chasing lizards and the occasional fly.

In a way, Katiuska helped my mom and me cope with the grief of losing Luna. We admire her strength and the way she held on to life, as though she knew something better was waiting for her.

A few weeks after I adopted her, I told her veterinarian, “Katiuska is my little white-fur angel.”

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Story submitted by Ana Maria Mejia from Medellin, .

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!