An adult tabby cat with an orange and white coat, wearing a small helmet or cap indoors in a home setting. 4:48

The kitten in the tiny helmet is doing just fine

Otter and Bunny were found on the street as kittens, and the mother cat their rescuers waited for never came back. Both were missing most of their front legs, and Otter had a problem nobody had spotted yet. more

The people who found them called Caroline at Baby Kitten Rescue, where she and her team take in kittens with special needs. The two arrived sick, with respiratory infections, bad stomach trouble and fleas. Caroline's team knew what to do.

With time and care the kittens got better, and that was when Caroline noticed something else. Otter was missing part of his skull, so one bump on the head could lead to a serious infection. She asked her followers for help, and one of them offered to make Otter a helmet.

An orange and white cat wearing a small helmet looks out a window at buildings outside. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Otter's new helmet, made by one of the rescue's followers, guards the gap in his skull.

He did, sized for a kitten, and of everyone in this story the helmet maker gets the most thanks. With it on, Otter could play with his kitten friends without anyone holding their breath over every bump. Caroline says he is in no pain or discomfort. She calls him the happiest little guy.

Bunny has the same short front legs as her brother. The two came off the street together, and they like to rest side by side.

Two cats rest together, and one of them wears a small helmet. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Otter and Bunny, found together on the street, rest side by side.

Some people look at these two and feel sad. Many of the people who follow them push back on that. Otter and Bunny were born this way, so they never missed what they never had, and they have no idea they are different.

The helmet was never meant to be forever. Caroline booked Otter for surgery to cover the hole in his skull with titanium mesh, and the operation was a complete success.

An adult tabby cat with an orange and white coat, wearing a small helmet or cap indoors in a home setting. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Otter and Bunny were found on the street as kittens, and the mother cat their rescuers waited for never came back.

After the surgery, Caroline shared that Otter was recovering well. He still had a long way to go, but he was eating and playing, and purring like nothing had ever happened. The little helmet had done its job.

#kittens