Featured Fur Monster: The Inspiring Story of Frankencat

This is Frankencat, he's a handsome devil isn't he? He wasn't always this dapper though. When Franken was found on the streets in November of 2013, he was suffering from an atrophied eye, a badly-healed broken jaw that held his mouth open and a necrotic face wound between his eyes. His appearance led the good people who took him in at the Pittsburgh Feral Cat Movement to affectionately name him Frankencat.

After some treatment, Franken was healing well and needed a place to call home while he waited to be adopted.

Heather Long is an animal lover extraordinaire, foster mom to six pups currently, and and advocate on behalf of the pit bull breed working against the many negative myths about them. When Franken tested positive for FeLV (feline leukemia virus), which is a highly transmittable disease and meant that he would have to live away from other cats, the people at PFCM thought of Heather as a possible foster home for Franken.

Heather took him in without question and that's where our love story really begins.

Old Grand Dad (aka OGD) was a 15 year old, deaf, blind and somewhat senile pit bull. Sadly, he had little chance of being adopted and was scheduled to be euthanized before Heather rescued him, originally intending to keep him until an animal hospice had space for him. After finding that OGD was quite cozy and comfy with her, Heather chose to keep him until he decided to go to the Bridge. OGD spent his days ambling about, finding joy in his quiet life with Heather and her other pups.

When Franken showed up, he bunked with OGD in his private suite because some of the other dogs weren't cat friendly. Franken would stay in an extra large dog cage, which Heather would open when she was there to supervise. It was during these times that Heather "immediately began to see their bond blossom."

Franken is shown here keeping his buddy safe while he naps via a pretty effective laser eye.

After Franken and OGD began to bond, Heather claims that he turned a corner. He had spent much of his three years of life as a feral cat and was unaccustomed to to human interaction. He would hiss and hide, but as Franken began to heal, started hanging out with OGD and began to see that Heather was also OGD's friend, his true personality began to shine through (bright as his aforementioned laser eye).

Franken began showing trust in Heather, weaving around her ankles, and he was clearly smitten OGD, cuddling and milktreading him with his paws while OGD slept peacefully. The bond continued and as you can see in the gif above, Franken took care of OGD (and some of the other dogs in Heather's care), helping him during seizures or guiding him to his bed with the help of touch and scent. Not only was the unlikely pair becoming inseparable friends, but they were therapeutic for each other. Franken helped OGD in his day to day life and in turn Franken's affectionate personality was nurtured and flourishing. (The full video of Franken helping OGD is pretty amazing, check it out onBernadette's blog post.)

Eventually, OGD decided it was time to head for the Bridge. Franken stuck by him until the end and even beyond. He snuggled OGD for his final moments and acted as pallbearer when Heather took OGD to his grave, sticking close by his shroud. Franken even laid on OGD's grave, clearly grieving the loss of the friend he had taken such good care of and who had helped him go from a feral cat at the end of his rope to the sweet, intelligent and deeply loving Frankencat that he is today.

Take a deep breath everyone.

This entire post and all images comes courtesy ofBernadette Kazmarski's blog post on The Creative Catand Heather Long. The post won a 2014 Petties Award for best blog post. It contains the full story of Franken and OGD and is a very touching read. You can also see videos of Franken taking care of OGD and Heather's other pit bulls and learn more about this little family.

Stop byFranken's Facebook page to learn more about what he's up to these days. His most recent accomplishment is being named the2014 Black Friday Kitteh of the Year by the cat lovers running Cheezburger's very ownBlack_Friday group profile. Franken is working his way to Internet Fame in the best kind of way.

Update: We just learned that Franken has found his forever home! After the great adventure that Heather went through with OGD, Franken and the rest of her pit bulls, there was no way she was letting Franken out of her life. He has gone from foster to adoption and has since befriended all of the pit bulls in Heather's care. Check out all of the details here!

Happy endings are just the best.