Tiny kitten with a severe eye infection finds her way to a man's yard and into his home — the eye may not have made it, but she did.

Author image for Ayala Sorotsky
Ayala Sorotsky • Writer and Editor
Jul 1, 2026 7:00 PM EDT

Small and sickly stray kittens are hard to save. I did it once, and this man also made it. With a little effort and dedication, anyone can save a kitten's life and watch them bloom into the best, most loving cat ever.

I know how hard and grueling it is to fight for a kitten's life. I adopted my cat when she was a tiny thing, merely a month old, and very, very, very sick. She had probably everything on the stray kittens list - worms in her tiny belly, fungus eating on her fur, and infections that needed attention and care. And let me tell you, it was such a long process to nurse her back to health. But when she finally recovered from everything, she grew to be the most loving, amazing, and best cat I could ever ask for.

I sincerely hope that u/dbone1123 on Reddit just got the best future cat he could ask for, with his tiny Pico de Gato (love the name, by the way). By what he describes, the situation is a little different, but the baseline is the same - he has just adopted a sickly stray kitten, and asks the online feline family members for some advice on how to care for her the best way he can. First of all, I argue that he already does it - with how dedicated he is. And secondly, he might face a tough decision - but it'll leave him with a healthier cat, and… way cooler. Because what's cooler than a pirate cat? Nothing. It's the coolest.

And yes, by "pirate cat" I mean one-eyed cats. It might sound shocking in the beginning, but you'd be surprised at what cats can do with no eyes… everything. Literally everything. So what's one eye off? Cats are surprisingly enduring creatures, they can get through anything. And if one eye is trouble - then off it goes (seriously, it could cause serious issues in the future, and no cat pawrent wants that for their cat child).

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    Cheezburger Image 10642941184
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    Here to give a 1 month update on Pico Update
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    I'll start off with a link to my original post here. Pico de Gato found me by pure luck, I was house sitting my family's dogs but decided to go home to mow my lawn.
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    What followed was about a week of chaos getting her situated and my house kitty friendly.
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    Cheezburger Image 10642944512
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    Thanks to everyone in this community I determined she was about 6 weeks old when found and only weighed
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    300g, topping off her problems was a bad eye infection that needed treated right away. Sadly it was too late for her eye but she found me to take care of her.
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    Cheezburger Image 10642943744
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    Now she is 212 months and weighing about 1lb 12oz, the vet said she is nice and healthy.
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    The picture of her sleeping on me was right after we got home from the vet.
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    Cheezburger Image 10642942208
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  • We love seeing pictures that are great examples of cats loving their humans, and humans loving their cats. It warms our hearts. Humans loving their cats is almost the default, but when you see a cat showing love back - by trusting their human - this is a whole other story. This kitten wouldn't be napping on her human if she didn't trust him, and that, my fellow feline fan friends, comes with lots of love and care for a cat.

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    Overall she has been a great addition to my mundane, predictable day to day as she must be included or else. I
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    also had to get her a bell collar, she is a very quiet kitty, only vocalizing when she gets stuck somewhere, which really doesnt happen anymore.
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    Something i did want everyone's opinion on is regarding her eye, the vet told me that it isnt functioning and has even deflated slightly but told me we are ok to leave it alone
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    unless it starts to bother her, it gets infected again or if I decide I want it removed. What would you all do? I am
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    leaning tward getting it taken care of so I dont have to worry later.
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    nice AMERICAN Man
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    dbone1123 OP I know i just made this post but Pico gave me this amazing picture and needed to share
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    Cheezburger Image 10642947328
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    UberMisandrist Awww her lil multicolor toe beans! ☐
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    PHX Architraz Our kitty had a severe eye infection when we found her in the alley at about the same age. The infeciton healed,
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    but the eye was entirely cloudy and non- functional.. We were given the same choice, but told it would present a higher risk for infection in the future,
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    so we opted for the ennucleation when we had her fixed at about 4 months old. Two years later, it seems to have all worked out the best for our little pirate.
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    pomegranatelover Can we see your little pirate???
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    PHX Architraz This is Leela, the neediest of our cats:
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    We are surprised to this day that she survived those first few weeks... she was in a really really bad way when we found her (and we're dog people, so three neo-natal kittens were a learning experience for us).
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    PHX_Architraz Leela and her brother the day after we found them (sitting on a dishrag while we cleaned out their crate). Bordrtline Illegally Smoll Cats terrirory.
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    AstuteStoat I feel like waiting until she's a little older would be better, but I feel like cats don't tell you when something is wrong so it's better to plan to get it removed so it doesn't have the chance to start bothering her.
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    dbone1123 OP Ya, the original plan was to get it removed when she gets spayed. I have another appointment in 1 month for her booster shots and I will talk with the vet more than as well.
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    yrnkween That makes sense-one bout of anesthesia, one recovery period. Then you never have to worry if it's infected and she can't tell you.
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    frakkingtoaster Owner of a one-eyed kitty here - only having one eye has never stopped her! She also had an eye infection. We adopted her
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    after the procedure had been done and already healed, but she's never had any issues with the area. She's a happy girl. Thanks for rescuing little Pico!
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    Cheezburger Image 10642949632
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