Many countries around the world have stray cats, and Spain is no exception. Despite a large number of shelters, this European country has still not solved the problem of street cats, which breed uncontrollably.
It was there, in a village in the Spanish province of Valencia, that a singular ginger kitten was born in an abandoned house, later nicknamed Romeo. Romeo was unlucky in life: he had slightly deformed, that’s how he was born.
Romeo’s siblings were quickly dispersed by locals and he remained on the streets – no one wanted to take him in due to his unusual appearance. People passed by the kitten because they thought it was « ugly ».
Soon, the mother cat also found a home, and Romeo found himself all alone in an abandoned house. No one knows what would have happened to the ugly kitten if he hadn’t been lucky.
Animal protection officer, Laura, and her friends traveled to the village to adopt a pig, called Leopoldo. Locals told her about a strange kitten wandering around. Laura found him and brought the baby back to the shelter with the pig.
Although Romeo’s story received a lot of publicity and many people sent letters of support, the kitten remained at the Santuario CompasiĂłn animal shelter, where 250 animals now live.
The refuge is more like a farm on an area of ​​80 hectares. Most of the farm animals that the owners no longer need to end up here, but there are also a few cats, including Romeo. Despite his strange face, Romeo has no abnormalities and behaves like a normal cat.
Romeo has proven to be a very sociable and playful cat, and he quickly makes new friends among the animals at the shelter. Romeo plays a lot with his lamb, Garby, who also had a difficult childhood. Romeo is now 6 years old and still lives at the Santuario CompasiĂłn animal shelter in Valencia.
