These stories were originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Submit your own rescue story here. Your story just might be the next to be featured on our blog!

My friend Kim found a kitten along side of the road on her way to our house. The kitten somehow managed to push open the box and climb out the window while we were in the house. We looked everywhere but couldn't find her. We figured she ran away and there was really nothing else we could do. She was no where to be found... until the next morning when Kevin started his truck for work. CLUNK!

PHOTO: PIXABAY/RIHAIJ

She was in the fan. She came hobbling out, broken, bleeding, and scared. He managed to scoop her up and put her in the carrier for me to take to the vet. I ended up having to take her to work with me because none of the vets opened until 9. It happened at 7:20. It was the longest hour ever! At 9 a.m. AVH Veterinary Hospital in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania agreed to see her right away.

The break went through the upper growth plate which means that it's hard to splint and immobilize without surgery BUT they managed to do it. She lost a claw & a small piece of her paw. Her ear, tail and other paws were all cut but luckily not all of them needed sutures.

She was approximately 10-weeks-old and weighed 2 1/2 pounds.

PHOTO: KEVIN AND TRICIA FROM BANGOR, PA

She is the sweetest, most lovable kitten. She purrs the minute you touch her. She snuggles up to your chin and sleeps in your arms. She cries to be held. She will have a cast for at least four weeks and there is no guarantee that it will work, but we are hoping for the best outcome.

We decided to name her Lucy McGillicutty from I Love Lucy because she is a redhead that gets herself into trouble and we LOVE her.

Story submitted by Tricia and Kevin from Bangor, Pennsylvania.

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My Mazda

While volunteering at a local shelter, there was this beautiful black cat named Mazda who had been in the cages on display for customers for 10 months. She and her mom and sister were found in a local Sunoco station April 12, 2010. My rescue boss was contacted and brought them home, giving the names Mazda and Ford to the two baby girls and the mom was called Maserati.

Mom and sister were adopted immediately, leaving Mazda behind. Fast forward 10 months, while cleaning cages at this pet store, my heart went out to her. I knew if she wasn't adopted, she would go to back to the rescue house into a room with mean, unadoptable cats. I could not let that happen. My rescue boss let me bring her home to join my family of three other cats.

On May 1, 2011 I brought her home. For two weeks, she would not come out from under the couch until she was sure I was sleeping or out of the house, so she could use the litter box. Twice a day I put food and water under the couch for her.

Then one night while I was on the phone, I see her cute little head come out from around the corner of the couch. The rest is history. She has become the sweetest, most lovable cat ever. I get to pick her up on occasion, because she is still a little skittish yet she rubs against me when I am on the computer.

I thank God every day for tugging at my ear telling me to bring her home. She has been a great comfort to me when my 17-year-old tabby crossed the Rainbow Bridge July 20, 2020. She was one of the lucky ones never to see a shelter her entire life, as I got her from her mom at 6-weeks-young. Mazda seemed to know my heartache and became more loving to me.

PHOTO: BEATRICE GOBEE

In 2007, I adopted another cat that was unadoptable and afraid of the world. She was a tortie and named Bashful. If she could have crawled through the walls at the pet store, she would have. She got to know what love and life was all about being with me till she lost her battle with diabetes on April 24, 2019.

Reach out and take a chance on those you think are too afraid of life. Give them a chance, bring them home and watch them develop into something beautiful and lovable. You won't be sorry. My Mazda and male cat Remington are inseparable and follow me from room to room and sleep with me at night.

Story submitted by Beatrice Gobee from Bushkill, Pennsylvania.

Enjoying these purr-fect tales? Here's one more!

The Cat No One Wanted

Two summers ago, my beloved cat Sparkler was dying. I didn’t want Willow to be an only cat (and I guess I didn’t want to have only one cat). As an older person myself, I wanted an older cat – so I went to Animal Care Centers of New York, not a fancy shelter, but basically “the pound.” The staff was lovely, the volunteers were enthusiastic, the cats and dogs seemed well cared for, but there were only a few older cats.

Keelye-Ann, a tabby who they thought was 9-years-old, did NOT want me. She hid in the back of her cage. When the volunteer took us to a little room, she jumped off my lap and hid behind a tree. She had been there a while. While all the other cats were selling themselves, she was hiding. That’s the perfect cat for me, the one no one else wants.

They said I would have to have her spayed. By the time I went to pick her up, she had an upper respiratory infection – so she could go home until she was better and then go back for surgery. On the way home, we went to my vet, who added eye and ear infection and probable parasites to the list.

PHOTO: MARYJANE BOLAND

She spent a week in my guest bathroom. She hid behind the toilet. She was hungry all the time and walked in her food dish. Soon, I took her back for surgery and got a call later in the day with the vet laughing: "First of all, when we shaved her to prep for surgery, we found the little tattoo that shelters use when they spay a cat – no surgery. AND this cat is not 9-years-old. She is probably 4, no older than 5!”

Kellye-Ann is Kathryn now. She’s not my older cat and, not unexpectedly, she did not bond with Willow. She’s healthy, happy, silly, and she has a dad. I met my husband not long after I adopted Kathryn and she adopted him. She sleeps on his head, watches TV with him, and has definitely found the right home. She’s still afraid of noise, anything from crinkling waxed paper to thunder, and spends the day under the bed, just in case.

Not only is it great to visit Animal Control, but it’s even better to adopt the cat that no one else wants and let her enrich your life!

Story submitted by MaryJane Boland from New York, New York.

Lucy's, Mazda's and Kathryn's stories were originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!