When Donny was a young cat, he was discovered lost in a parking lot, unwell and in need of assistance. He was saved by North Shore Animal League America in New York, and there, staff members toiled arduously to restore him to health.
The rescuers decided to have Donny’s eyes removed because they were undeveloped and useless to him.
Soon after his surgery, it was found that Donny also has cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological disorder that seriously affects his balance. The shaky, blind cat was placed in a foster home with experienced foster parent Beth Stern while he searched for his forever family.
In March 2016, Susan Smith was browsing Instagram when she came upon a post about Donny and fell in love at first sight. She and her husband made the decision to meet him even though they weren’t planning to adopt another cat; as soon as they did, they knew he was going home with them.
Smith told The Dodo, “He was stumbling and knocking into stuff but just kept rushing around.” He had the most remarkable spirit I had ever seen.
He would tumble, but immediately get back up. He had received a double blow from life, but he was the happiest person we had ever met. On Sunday morning, after I picked him up on Friday night.
