Surely, it can be stressful, both for the animal and the person, to go visit the vet, but St. Francis Hospital for Animals might be a place where every client is excited to go. Most certainly it’s because of one particular staff member whom everybody has come to love.
Ozzy, a tiny black cat diagnosed with a form of dwarfism called osteochondrodysplasia, was accidentally found and brought to the clinic. Emily, the hospital’s kennel/boarding manager, along with the staff, decided to adopt him. Now, Ozzy lives a comfortable life where all of his medical needs are taken care of for free, and he can enjoy his carefree days together with his bud, Yellow Cat.
Meet Ozzy, an adorable black cat with dwarfism
Bored Panda reached out to Emily to learn more about Ozzy’s story.
First of all, she introduced herself: “My name is Emily. I am the kennel/boarding manager, so if a dog stays overnight or if someone is going on a trip and they need someone to watch their pet, that’s me!”
Ozzy’s condition stops him from growing to full size and gives other distinguishing features that make him look sort of strange
Ozzy was not immediately diagnosed with dwarfism. Emily explained how they started to notice that something was a bit off: “When he came to us he had parasites and conjunctivitis, which we got cleared up pretty quickly. Once those things got cleared up we realized he wasn’t growing and we started on a quest to find out what exactly was up with him.”
“He has a condition called osteochondrodysplasia, which is a form of genetic dwarfism. He also has a few problems such as short joints, occasional breathing problems because of his bulldog-like face, and the occasional bout of constipation.”
Ozzy was adopted by St. Francis Hospital for Animals after a couple accidentally found him on the street
Emily shared Ozzy’s backstory: “So Ozzy was actually brought into the clinic by a couple who found him in the middle of a street while they were house hunting. They said he was just sitting there meowing and nobody was around,” shared Emily.
Nowadays, Ozzy and his bud Yellow Cat are the stars of the clinic and are deeply loved by the staff and clients
Ozzy is a part of the clinic, and it would be difficult to imagine it without him. “Every day we come in and he and his brother Yellow greet us.
Clients love them both, especially in hard times like euthanasia, he is a great little pick-me-up for people. That’s why we started this page, he brings so much joy to our lives and we wanted to share him!” shared Emily.
The clinic made an Instagram account dedicated to the two of them where they share cats causing all sorts of mischief
Though Ozzy will never be able to jump as high as other cats or run as fast, he surely is loved for who he is
Ozzy has difficulties due to his situation, but he is very loved and enjoys life as any cat would. “He can never live a normal life and terms of a regular cat, as in he can’t jump up on things or run quite as fast. Other than that, he is a normal cat, though. He enjoys sleeping on his heating pad, playing with his normal-size brother Yellow, and generally just causing mischief. He means everything to us at this clinic,” shared Emily.
Luckily, Ozzy found a home where he is very well taken care of. “We are a smaller vet clinic but we have been in business for over 15 years! It really is an excellent place for Ozzy to live because he has a doctor for a dad and about 5 moms ranging from receptionists to technicians and myself! He gets everything free and if anything ever looks weird with him we are on it!” wrote Emily.
