Abandoned kitten born with a "hole in her heart" gets rescued by the kindest person, and the internet comes together to cover her life-saving surgery: 'It's nerve-wracking to wait'

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Feb 22, 2025 10:00 AM EST

When you look at itty bitty kittens, your first thought is probably: "aww". They are so tiny and cute, and they seem so fragile. They're so small that they can fit in the palm of your hand. That's amazing. But they are not fragile. Not even close. Kittens are strong, resilient, and from everything that we have seen so far in our time writing for ICHC, they are persistent as heck. Nothing will stop them from living their lives to the fullest.

Kittens may be abandoned, kittens may face dangers outside, kittens may be born sick, but as long as they find themselves in the hands of a human who loves them, they have every chance of surviving and thriving. That's the story of Tulip. This adorable kitten was found abandoned in the woods on Thanksgiving. Alone, she most likely would not have made it, but the cat distribution system provided for the sweet fluffball, and she found herself in the hands of the kindest person. Except that now, she faces another challenge - she has a hole in her heart, and she needs surgery.

Of course, Tulip won over the hearts of the people on the internet immediately, and they came together to cover the cost of her surgery right away. The vets who are taking care of her believe that, with the surgery, "she will have a normal and full life", and we do too.

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"Meet Tulip. She was found abandoned in the woods next to my chiropractors home. She is everything"

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"UPDATE: Tulip, the kitten found in the woods, has a hole in her heart and requires immediate surgery"

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It is important to note that it is not just the vets who think that Tulip has a great change of surviving and thriving, but we do too! Tulip is not the first kitten who has had serious heart issues and survived. The medical progress we have made is amazing, and Tulip being asymptomatic so far is a wonderful sign as well, according to the National Kitten Coalition. Now, we will hope that her surgery could be done faster, and that once it is done, she is back to causing the chaos that she should be.
And although we know that the goal of the GoFundMe has already been reached by the wonderful people of the internet, here is a link to go donate for anyone who wants to give Tulip and her owner some additional support.
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Now, we want to give some special shout-outs to a bunch of kittens who have already gone through and survived surgeries similar to the one Tulip will be going through - both because they are ameowzing and because they have given us so much hope. Give some love to Vanilla Bean who went through surgery when she was a 1-year-old, to Annie who went through surgery at nine months, to Shinji who was barely a few weeks old at the time of her surgery, and to Piglet who was also just a few weeks old. They were all given low chances of survival, but they all pulled through and are living their best lives now, and we know, in our hearts, along with the rest of the internet, that Tulip will be another beautiful success story.
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Vanilla Bean

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Annie

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Shinji

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Piglet

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