Memphis was born with a cleft upper palate and a ‘smushed’ brachycephalic face which is why he has two noses!
He was surrendered to a local shelter by his first owner when they could no longer care for him.
The shelter threatened to euthanize Memphis because of his unique look, assuming it would be difficult for him to get adopted.
Thankfully, a volunteer working at The Odd Cat Sanctuary, a non-profit devoted to caring for special needs cats, found out about him just in time.
The sanctuary’s owner, Tara, immediately fostered him as soon as she heard he was at risk of being put down.
He joined several other special needs cat in her home, while they waited to be adopted by their forever families.
But it turned out Memphis had already found his, he didn’t stay a foster cat for long!
Double the cuteness
When Memphis was initially brought to the kill shelter, he wasn’t neutered as vets feared he wouldn’t respond well to anesthesia.
This meant that he had a few behavioral issues, but they were soon rectified once he was under Tara’s care.
Although his upper cleft palate looks severe, it doesn’t negatively impact his ability to breathe and eat, so Tara went ahead and got him neutered which made his behavior problems disappear.
“With me, he’s snuggly and loving. He sleeps by my head every night on my pillow, and he chirps for attention.”
Tara, Catster magazine, 2019.
Memphis can breathe through both noses which sounds quite loud when he’s trying to sniff something.
And according to Tara, he also snores very loudly!
Ambassador
Not only did Tara adopt Memphis soon after fostering him, but she made him the official ambassador of her sanctuary.
“He’s a wonderful example of an ‘odd cat.’ He brings people joy to their lives each day just by sharing his pictures with the world. It’s an important message to spread: that different is beautiful, and comes in all shapes and sizes and forms.”
Tara, Catster magazine, 2019.
And he is always on hand to welcome the other special cats, helping them feel comfortable for however long they stay at the sanctuary.
Memphis is proof of how much sweetness a special needs cat can add to life, for humans and other cats!
