Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/rescue-story-lili/

This story was submitted as part of the Fur-tastic Scrapbook contest. Winners will receive $500, plus $2,000 in cash and supplies for their favorite rescue. You can vote for your favorite finalist through August 1 here!

Little did I know that back in 2013, my life was going to change forever thanks to a little kitten named Lili.

I was at my local vet with my current cat when a man brought in a small shoe box. Inside the shoe box was a 3-day-old kitten. The man had no idea what to do with the small creature he had brought in, and the vet had no surrogate available and was unable to take it. The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew what I had to do.

I accepted the small package and headed to the pet store for bottles, formula, heat packs, etc. It was several weeks of hard work, with feedings every two hours around the clock, and constant fear that I was going to mess up or she wasn’t going to make it. The vet was convinced she wouldn’t make it the week.

But, a week turned into a month, a month into a year. She was a fighter, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her happy and healthy. We had some medical scares in the beginning, after a botched spaying, resulting in her ending up in the ER for a week. But I would spare no expense to make sure she had a fighting chance. We had been through too much to give up now.

I had no idea at the time how much Lili would change my life. She became my guardian angel, my lifeline. No matter how bad things got in my life, I knew I had to keep fighting for her. Lili stuck with me through multiple cross-country moves, an ugly divorce, medical problems, and endless bouts of depression. We were inseparable. Anywhere I went, she went. She was my little shadow.

Lili made it eight years before she finally succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2021. Losing her was like losing a child, losing a piece of me. She was my world. I am not sure my heart will ever heal from the loss of her, but I am forever grateful for the impact she had on my life. In many ways she saved my life, just as I had saved hers.

Story submitted by Christine Asprey in support of Ruff Start Rescue, MN. Vote for your favorite Fur-tastic Scrapbook story here!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog