Meet Phoenix, a stunning cat with eyes of different colors, who was abandoned by his owner in their old apartment building. The poor cat spent almost a year on his own before kind-hearted people stepped in to rescue him.  

It all began when a compassionate woman reached out to Cats Of San Bernardino in California, about Phoenix. 

She had noticed the white cat hanging around her apartment complex for a year. Upon getting closer, the woman realized the cat was sick, needing instant medical attention. 

Thanks to her, Phoenix came to the right place and started his journey to recovery. Jaina from Cats Of San Bernardino shared:

“He was in rough shape and was losing all his hair. He had been outside for a little while, and he’s definitely an older guy, so he was definitely very depressed.”

Phoenix seemed grateful for the help he was provided with, but he was still very depressed and antisocial. Jaina added:

“We knew that something had caused him to be so sad. He had an owner that he loved, and he didn’t have them anymore, so he was heartbroken.”

Most rescued cats crave attention, but not Phoenix. He tolerated pets but didn’t return the affection, and he wasn’t keen on other cats either. He just wanted to be alone.

But, just when everyone thought Phoenix preferred the loner life, a twist in the tale occurred.

One day, the rescuers of Cats Of San Bernardino received a call about several newborn kittens in someone’s backyard. The rescuers instantly sprang into action, took the kittens in, and began providing them with round-the-clock care.

However, one kitten, Ruby, was struggling. She was too weak to eat and badly dehydrated. 

Luckily, the rescuers refused to give up on her. Ruby kept fighting and one day, a miracle happened. She just started eating and growing bigger and stronger. 

Days passed by and Ruby grew into a playful young kitten, never letting anything dampen her spirits. 

One day, she was running around and playing, and of all the cats, she chose to approach Phoenix, who was just lying there. Jaina was worried as Phoenix wasn’t the friendliest cat, so she always kept an eye on them.

Initially, Phoenix wasn’t really amazed by Ruby bothering him, but then the most amazing thing happened – he started bathing her. Jaina and the rest of the rescuers were left speechless. 

That was only the beginning of their friendship, because every day, Phoenix seemed to fall in love with Ruby more and more. Jaina shared:

“She brought out that other side of him that we did not know existed. And he got this new side to him where he would play on his own too!”

After meeting Ruby, Phoenix blossomed into a brand new cat. He would play, follow Ruby everywhere, and even purr while receiving attention from his humans. Jaina said:

“Ruby helped him get to that point where he was happy. Once their connection formed, we knew that Phoenix needed her because he’d already suffered so much loss, and we’re not gonna take Ruby away from him now, the only one that really makes him happy, so we are going to only adopt them out together.”

Surprised by how things worked out in the end, the rescuers decided to give them up for adoption together. However, not everything went according to plan.

Ruby and Phoenix have been up for adoption for 10 months, and no one was interested in adopting them together. Ruby grew up, but Phoenix remained the social kitty, taking care of sick orphaned kittens who needed love the most.

For that reason, the rescuers decided to put them up for adoption separately. But then, something that broke everyone’s hearts came up.

Papa Phoenix was diagnosed with cancer that totally slowed him down. Despite the best efforts and treatments, the cancer was too aggressive, and it was already too late. Cats Of San Bernardino shared:

“We are devastated to announce that our Papa didn’t make it. He responded to his cancer treatment, but he had so much cancer that when it started to die off it put him into sepsis.”

Despite everything, the most important thing is that Phoenix was rescued from the streets. He was given a chance to live a beautiful life and have some fun, all thanks to his devoted rescuers, and of course, Ruby, the kitten who got the best of him. 

Though he’s gone, Phoenix, the charming white cat with captivating eyes, took a piece of everyone’s hearts and the memory of him will live on forever!