A special education teacher who visit’s her students at their homes found a kitten on one of their doorsteps one day as she was leaving.
That kitten turned out to be Willow!
She was only five weeks old, tiny, dirty, covered in fleas, had a bloody nose and an ear infection.
So the woman took her to the vet where they told her that if they gave her to a shelter, she would most likely be put down because of how she looked.
“Most people want the beautiful cats. They don’t want the funny looking cats or cats with special needs.”
Willow’s mom
The teacher was shocked, and decided to keep her for herself, the kitten deserved someone who could appreciate her beauty.
She named her Willow after the street she found her on.
‘Smushed’ face
Willow’s unique look is the result of a congenital deformity.
She appears to be brachycephalic, meaning she has shortened skull bones and a “pushed-in” nose which effects her breathing.
Her mom reports that she has a little trouble breathing as she can only breathe through one nostril, but otherwise she is perfectly healthy.
Apparently there tend to be a lot of cats around where Willow’s mom found her, most likely abandoned by her mother.
And her mom is glad she did because now she gets to keep her.
She even got on great with her new canine sister!
A unique beauty
Willow’s mom decided to start an Instagram page for Willow to spread awareness about cats that look different to others.
Just because she doesn’t look like other cats doesn’t mean she’s not beautiful.
“I gave her the name Willow The Beautiful Cat because when I first found her, everyone told me she was ugly. So I decided to name her the beautiful cat to be a little play on words and to prove everybody wrong and I think that we have.”
Willow’s mom
Willow’s mom also likes to attach positive messages to posts of Willow, hashtags like #kindnessmatters and #beyou.
She also dresses Willow up on occasion in delightful outfits!
Willow and her mom are definitely proving that she is beautiful just the way she is, and over 250,000 of her fans agree.