As of May 3rd of this year, the world has already celebrated National Specially-abled Pets Day, a holiday that is set with one goal in mind—to shine a spotlight on the needs of pets with disabilities. This day is set aside to educate the public about caring for disabled pets and one of the main objectives is to feature disabled animals looking for a home, giving them a higher chance of being adopted.
Not too long ago, a unique cat without his front legs hopped his way into the hearts of so many people after finally finding a forever home and his incredible story is inspiring to say the least.
Rexie Roo was found with severely injured legs after an unfortunate accident back in January of 2020 and was rushed to a rural shelter in Utah
Meet Rexie Roo, a rescue kitty with no front legs who gets around by jumping like a kangaroo. The little two-legged, incredibly cute cat was recently adopted by Cairistiona Flatley, who spotted Rexie Roo at the Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization in Utah, and the little guy has been living with Cairistiona ever since.
After Rexie Roo was brought to the shelter, given his condition, the shelter had no choice but to ask for immediate medical assistance on social media
We reached out to Rexie Roo’s owner Cairistiona, and here’s what she told us.
“I had been thinking about fostering/adopting another cat companion for my first cat, KeeKee, during the pandemic when I had much more time to get them acquainted. I had always been drawn to animals with special needs and as soon as I saw Rexie on the Best Friends (@bfas_ut) Instagram I immediately fell in love. I had never adopted a special needs animal before so this was my first experience.”
Rexie Roo’s legs had to be amputated when they realized that his broken legs couldn’t be saved
Of course Rexie Roo being the special cat that he is we also wanted to know what his personality was like.
“Rexie is a total sweetie. He greets me at the door when I get home and has to be in whatever room I am in. He loves to cuddle. Every night he likes to sleep on my shoulder, neck, or head! He is very food-driven so he is my alarm clock every morning for his breakfast and he always lets me know when he is ready for dinner or a treat. I was also surprised at how playful he started to become as he started to heal more. He loves wand toys.”
Best Friends Animal Society reached out to help and assist the tuxedo cat in any way they could by bringing the cat to their life-saving center in Salt Lake City
We noticed that Rexie Roo wasn’t the only rescue that was lucky enough to end up in Cairistiona’s house, so we wanted to find out a little bit more about Rexie Roo’s other friends as well.
“My other rescue is also from Best Friends Animal Society and his name is KeeKee. I got him two years before Rex. Initially, he wasn’t too keen on not being the only child of the house but now he loves to cuddle and play with Rex.”
We also asked Rexie Roo’s owner to tell us about how Rexie’s Instagram account came to be.
“The Instagram account was initially created by one of his fosters, Danielle. She created it to help him get adopted. I took it over when I adopted him because he had a lot of people from Best Friends and other shelters that wanted to be updated on his progress. Now we have grown his account to tell his story, show the continuing improvement of his health and abilities, and advocate for special needs pets.”
After the surgery, Rexie Roo was rehabilitated for quite some time and even had two different foster homes
The tuxedo kitty sure is special, therefore we asked his owner if she had any fun facts or stories to share with us.
“Rexie Roo is named after walking like a t-rex and jumping like a kangaroo. I was so surprised the first time he jumped onto my bed! If he wants something he goes after it!
I love that Rexie is the most loving creature despite the trauma he has gone through. He is incredibly strong and determined. He is literally the light of my life and I love everything about him!”
However, his quick way of adapting and recovery only left his foster parents overly impressed by the cat’s willingness to live and get back to his life
Rexie Roo’s inspiring story touched a lot of people around the world and even became viral, so we wanted to know what Cairistiona thought about it as well.
“I am so happy that Rexie is able to show a wide audience that special needs animals are capable of wonderful qualities of life given the chance. I think he is able to teach people a lot about strength, resilience, and the power of people caring about animals. I hope that his story is able to show people that all animals are deserving of love, even/especially if they look a bit different or move a little differently. I would not change a thing about him.”
Best Friends Animal Society documented the whole recovery process of Rexie Roo on their Instagram account in hopes of helping him find a forever home
Cairistiona Flatley (the current owner of Rexie Roo) reached out to find out if she could adopt the adorable kitty
After adopting Rexie Roo, Flatley decided to create an Instagram account for her new cat in hopes of sharing his inspiring and touching story with other people on the platform
Cairistiona’s goal was to shed some light on the taboo subject of adopting pets with disabilities, and she wanted to showcase the fact that Rexie Roo was no different from other cats, despite lacking his front legs.
“When people tell me I’m so kind for adopting a special needs cat and that he is lucky to have me, I can only think about how lucky I am to have him in my life,” Flatley told People.com.
Rexie Roo’s journey has captured the hearts of so many who watched him blossom into a beautiful, happy, and healthy cat and right now he lives comfortable and carefree life
