[Music] Ben Ben's perpetually sad face seemed to reflect his inner despondency due to his extensive health challenges no one wanted to take a chance on him but as death row loomed one couple opened their hearts to the world's saddest cat in just 1 hour after they brought him into their home a miraculous transformation happened what saved the orange cat was his size had he been even a few inches larger he would not have been able to make it into that life-saving hidey-hole but although he crawled toward survival every step was excruciatingly painful behind him he
heard the rasping breath of his attacker a neighborhood strayed dog at least three times his size with his little heart pounding the cat hunkered down trying to ignore the howls of frustration behind him he closed his eyes he was too spent even for a few sticky licks across his sticky coat hours later when the dog was finally gone the orange cat stuck his head out of the hidey-hole the pain was Now worse and after only a few stumbling steps he could move no further what the orange cat did not yet realize was how severely his
life would be impacted by this ordeal he heard voices children's voices he tried to make himself as small as possible as they approached fearing the worst the little orange cat was too weak to even plead for help or resist when he was loaded into a carrier the inside of the van rre of fear and Desperation of the many cats and dogs that have been transported within it as the van sped smoothly through the streets it carried the little or orange cat to a place of temporary safety but once he arrived at the animal shelter the
full extent of his injuries and the expression on his face would shock the shelter worker who processed him this must be the saddest looking cat I've ever seen said Billy the shelter's senior field officer normally abandoned pets are checked into an enclosure upon arrival but in this case a call was placed at once to the emergency veterinary surgery that often treated the shelter sick and injured animals Sandy the veterinary technician who took the little orange cat from her gently stroked him behind the ears from his injuries it was clear that he must have been in
a fight most likely with an animal that far outmatched him in size and strength but the lopsided uncoordinated way the orange cat moved suggested more serious internal injuries and his face had the saddest hang dog expression she'd ever seen he was missing part of an ear in what remained was infested with earmites does he have a name she asked I need to put down something to check in in Benjamin Button said Billy the field officer in all seriousness hope that brings you a little luck Ben Ben said Sandy you're going to need it a thorough
medical exam and some x-rays later revealed the Grim truth about Ben Ben's condition and it wasn't good at all besides the lacerations and puncture wounds little Ben Ben had a crushed spine which might never recover fully his most distinctive feature that perpetually sad face of his was the result of a fold of excess facial skin that no one could really explain at this point knowing that Benjamin faced severe health challenges and might never be able to walk the shelter staff seriously considered whether it might be better to just end all his pain and suffering but
he was still so young his age was estimated at around 5 or 6 months he deserved a shot at life hopeful of a happy ending they uploaded Ben's snapshot to their adoption page and perhaps because he looked so pitifully sad he was soon scheduled for a meet and greet with a wouldbe adopter everyone kept their fingers crossed that this would be Benjamin's lucky day but did Benjamin sense that he had been rejected perhaps with no further interest from anyone the shelter management made the very difficult decision to schedule him for euth in Asia soon after
the little orange cat who had faced so many challenges already fell into a slump he refused to eat or drink almost as if he knew that he had nothing left to live for but unknown to Benjamin he had went over the heart of one supporter who would come through for him after her initial encounter with with Ben Ben Sandy the technician at the emergency clinic could not get this sad little orange cat out of her thoughts due to the nature of her work Sandy often met cats who face severe health challenges and she had already
adopted several cats whom she knew would be hard to place in the average home Benben Ben had been one of those patients who really touched her heart but the next time she saw his face it would be accompanied with shocking news Sandy often saw cats on her social media accounts but when she recognized one cat that really made an impression on on her she paused to read the accompanying caption from the nature of her connection with the shelter Sandy knew better than anyone what this meant Benben was on death row even worse the post was
already days old dialing the familiar number of the shelter's office Sandy could not help wondering whether it was too late but as she spoke to the volunteer she found out that Ben Ben was near hours away from that deadly injection with tears in her eyes for this little orange cat who had seen nothing but bad luck she called her partner to let him know that they would be having another mouth to feed tonight at the shelter Sandy carefully bundled Ben Ben up she drove carefully but throughout the car trip he hardly moved when Sandy saw
Ben Ben in his cage face down and eyes half closed his complete despondency broke her heart but just 1 hour later she would see a completely different side of him Sandy set up a base camp for Ben Ben in the bathroom to give him a chance to fully absorb the sights sounds and smells of his new home without being overwhelmed by encounter with her other cats for an hour Sandy and her partner just sat with Ben Ben telling him that they loved him and that he was safe and Ben Ben responded he started purring and
favored them with soft and tender cuddles like he had understood that these two people saved his life after just 1 hour Ben Ben started exploring due to his damaged spine his gate was very odd and uncoordinated but he was trying he wanted to live and to explore however challenging his disability made that for him through the patio door Ben Ben caught a glimpse of one of his feline housemates and took a few stumbling steps in that direction another day Sandy brought him outside where he explored the garden with the adventure of Discovery to motivate him
and Sandy to provide encouragement and support Benin soon began to cover slightly longer distances at the emergency clinic vets predicted that he would never be able to walk but Benin was proving them wrong but years later Ben Ben's humans would discover another health issue that everyone overlooked with regular exercise and lots of encouragement from his adoring humans Ben Ben gained confidence and made new friends although he still struggled with balance he could now shuffle along for longer distances and even manage a little jump or navigate the stairs Sandy created social media Pages for Ben Benin
on Facebook and Instagram as a way of documenting and tracking his journey of progress and his story went viral Benjamin Button the cat no one wanted now has over 300,000 followers on Facebook and 6 83,000 followers on Instagram this led to Ben Ben getting perks such as his very own cuddle clone a soft toy replica of himself but as he walked with greater stability Sandy and her partner noticed something odd one of Ben Ben's front paws Twisted outwards concerned Sandy brought him in for a new set of X-rays and this revealed that the bones in
that pod did not connect the way they were supposed to compromising his ability to put his weight on that paw surgery was an option but since the procedure had a limited chance of success ESS and Ben Ben already struggled with mobility issues Sandy decided against putting through a lengthy healing process that might crush his Spirit after all he had already shown so much courage with such a hair raising start and the nail-biting tension of being on death row Ben Ben's life is now pretty much perfect he regularly Suns himself on the softest coziest window seat
and enjoys a happy Bromance with affectionate fellow Ginger Norman as behooves a popular fine influencer Ben Ben sometimes helps to campaign for cat-centric causes such as reminding his followers of the plight of shelter cats or becoming an activist against declawing what a heartwarming story with such a happy ending for Ben Ben it just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover have you ever opened your heart to a less than attractive pet what happened let us know in the comments we would love to hear from you
