When most people adopt an animal, it’s because they have an immediate reaction to their overall appearance. The “cutest” ones tend to be claimed first, while the others struggle to grab someone’s attention.
That was most certainly the case for Romeo, a ginger kitten with a facial defect who’d been living on the streets in southeastern Spain. When all of his siblings found forever homes rather quickly while he was left behind, his future looked bleak.
Then, someone came along who understood him, and everything changed…
It’s a sad reality, but many people adopting animals only look for the cutest ones to take home. More often than not, this leads to a struggle for the other, “less cute” animals to find forever homes. Such was the case for Romeo the kitten.
Born with a noticeable facial defect, the tiny ginger kitten was deemed “too ugly” by several people and he struggled to be adopted. His situation only worsened when all of his siblings found forever homes almost immediately while he was left behind.
Romeo’s future was starting to look rather bleak. He almost was fated to forever live his life out on the streets of Spain. That’s when Laura Llacér, the founder of Compasión Animal Santuario, spotted him…
The moment that Laura saw Romeo, she couldn’t believe that no one had decided to provide him with a forever home. “We were surprised that people did not see that this was someone special,” she explained in an interview.
That’s when Laura decided she would have to bring Romeo back to live with her at the sanctuary. There, he would at least get the chance to meet other animals from all walks of life, including turkeys, ducks, and even cows!
Despite his rather unusual appearance, Romeo was an incredibly affectionate cat. Laura believed that his unique face was actually what made him special. When you see him, you have to admit that it’s pretty tough to disagree !
Laura believed his facial deformity helped form his loving personality and, most certainly, his charming demeanor. “Romeo is very, very affectionate and behaves differently than other cats,” she said.
“He remains a cat, but there’s something adorable in his behavior that reflects that lovely abnormality in appearance,” Laura recalled. “Of course, he suffers a deformity, but that makes him different. That makes him unique.”
It definitely appeared as if Romeo was benefiting from such a loving environment at Laura’s sanctuary! Best of all, both Laura and the other animals embraced him for all of his unique qualities and treated him just as they would anyone else!
Romeo was such a sweet little kitten. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could take a look at him and not want to bring him home to stay forever. Just look at the adorable way he played and fit in at his new forever home…