He was hiding a secret.
A few months ago, when volunteers from St. Francis Society Animal Rescue in Florida met a sad, bedraggled cat named Mystic, they had no idea he was hiding a secret.
All it would take was love to unlock it.
Mystic arrived at a local animal shelter as a stray on the verge of a painful end. His body and face were covered in mange, crusted over so severely that he was unable to move freely or even open his eyes.
The cat was effectively blinded.
That’s how members of St. Francis Society Animal Rescue found him — deciding to offer Mystic a second chance.
From there, Mystic was placed under the care of Andrea Christian from Turtle Cat Foster, who helps raise needy kittens like him.
Seeing past the heartbreak of his condition, his new foster mom saw a fighting spirit.
“He was shy but loving from the first day we met,” Christian told The Dodo. “My foster home was pretty full, but I made a space for him. I immediately understood that his recovery was going to take a bit longer [than most].”
Under Christian’s watchful care, treating his skin condition, the stinging scabs covering Mystic’s body began their slow retreat. As they did, more and more of the cat’s lovable personality began to reveal itself as well.
Then came the first glimpses of Mystic’s most remarkable secret.
When the scabs around Mystic’s face started giving way to healthy skin, he was finally able to open his eyes, just a crack at first.
Something about them was different — and it caused Christian to gasp.
Mystic’s eyes were of two colors — one blue and one green.
“His two different eye colors were a huge surprise!” Christian said.
This was the result of a rare condition called heterochromia.
Had Christian and the other caring volunteers not intervened to help Mystic heal, his secret might never have been revealed. But instead, that revelation was just one step along a longer road of healing and recovery.
In time, Mystic could finally be himself, wholly.
Now, against the backdrop of his clean coat of snowy fury, Mystic’s eyes seem glow like gems of blue and green.
Mystic’s playful nature began to shine even more after Christian introduced him to a fellow rescue cat, an orange girl named Fuzzy Biscuits.
“It was love at first site!” Christian said. “He snuggled right up to Fuzzy Biscuits, and she immediately started to groom him. It was then that I knew he was going to be the best boy ever.”
In the months since Mystic was rescued, he’s made a remarkable recovery. But despite all that has been revealed in the process, there’s still one aspect of Mystic that has yet to be unlocked.
The lifetime of love he will bring to a forever family.
At long last, Mystic’s journey under Christian’s care is ready to come to a successful end, so that a new chapter of life can begin in a home of his very own.
Mystic is eager to start — and he’s optimistic that an adopter might let Fuzzy Biscuits join, too.
“Mystic is the very sweetest cat despite the pain of his past. He loves all of the other animals in our foster home and never once has argued with another cat. Now we call Mystic, Mystical Biscuits, saying he took Fuzzy’s last name,” Christian said. “Both are looking for their Forever Together home. We are hoping they will find a Together Forever Family. ”
