A woman named Malia was working with a rescue just outside Las Vegas when one of their sister shelters reached out about a cat named Mabel. 

Mabel was a 12-year-old blind and underweight cat they wanted to place in a loving home, and Malia didn’t think twice but accepted it with a full heart and open arms. 

When she went to pick her up, Malia was shocked at how tiny the cat was and how frail she looked. As she said in her interview:

“I remember the first night that I brought her home, she stunk so bad, I didn’t wanna stress her out by giving her a full bath so I just gave her a bath with wet wipes. And she just melted. I think it was the first time in probably a long time that she felt like she was genuinely cared for. I will always remember that moment.”

At the beginning of their journey, Mabel had stomatitis, recurrent ear infections, and oral growth. She was also blind from untreated glaucoma, had a lot of chronic food allergies… their first few weeks were tough and Malia didn’t know what to think.

She was unsure of everything, especially whether Mabel would recover and survive. As she explains:

“I really did think she was just a hospice case, so I was mostly focused on earning her trust and letting her know that she was safe and just improving her quality of life however I could.”

Malia also tried to be respectful of her feelings, not to push her or rush her into anything, she let Mabel approach her. They spent a lot of time just sitting together, Malia would bring a book with her and just sit there.

Malia also used to bring in her dinner and Mabel’s dinner and they would sit and eat together, especially because Mabel was really nervous to eat by herself.

This sweet thing became their routine…

Caring for such a fragile animal can be quite difficult, as Malia says, but it’s always worth it:

“They’re really gifts to the world.”

Long story short, our sweet little Mabel is 15 years old now! Malia and the shelter were convinced she was just another hospice case but after some time, Malia realized they still had some good years left to live.

Now she’s better than ever, she’s so wonderful and loving, and Malia feels like she couldn’t have asked for a better pet. Well, I believe destiny had its fingers all up in there, don’t you think?

This amazing duo lives in San Francisco and they even go out on adventures together. As Malia says:

“We’ll go on smell tours to the Fishermen’s Wharf. We go to the beach, we go to parks. I’m very big on consent-based practices. Everything with her is based on communication. I ask her if she wants to put a harness on and I hold it up to her and if she engages with it and acts like she would like to put it on, then I’ll put it on.”

It seems to me that these two really know how to make the most of their time! I don’t remember when was the last time I took my cat out for a walk, he just lays there judging me and eating his treats… 

Anywho, our little Mabel seems to have hit the jackpot with Malia. She takes such good care of her and really was the purrfect choice of pawrent for her!

Mabel is really good at communicating her needs and Malia is a great listener. If she gets lost or confused, or if she climbs somewhere high and can’t figure out how to get down, she just calls and Malia comes to her rescue. As she says:

“If we’re out and about and she feels uncomfortable, she’ll climb on my shoulder and just sit there. That’s kind of her safe spot.”

Malia admits she admires Mabel for being such a brave and resistant little feline:

“She’s one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had in my life. I learned so much from her every single day. She’s really so wise and so incredible and she might be small but she has a lot to share with the world.”

Malia is so happy to have made the decision to adopt Mabel, now she can’t imagine any different outcome. As she explains:

“I knew that we were supposed to be together and we were supposed to help take care of each other. She is probably the toughest person that I’ve ever met in my life.”

They were meant to be together and eventually found their way to each other. Thanks to Malia’s kindness and dedication, Mabel transformed from a hospice patient to a pet cat full of life! 

I hope they share many more years together, I’ll be following their adventures on Instagram and so can you! If you liked their story, feel free to share it. Who knows, maybe we’ll encourage someone out there to give a chance to another little senior kitty.