Ella was adopted after spending her entire life at the shelter. When her adopter learned she had cancer he was grateful for the opportunity to give her a loving home for whatever time she had left, and he set out to help her with a cat’s bucket list.
Watch this love story and see how Ella is thriving with her loving human.
Stephen Brown met Ella at the ASPCA shelter in NYC when he and his roommates decided to adopt a cat. He says, “When we found out that Ella had lived her entire life in shelters and never had a real home before, there was really no chance of saying no to her.”
After Ella’s adoption, Stephen discovered tumors on her stomach and had them removed. He learned that Ella had cancer and was told by a specialist vet that it was terminal and she had about 3 months to live. Ella had already outlived the 3 months when her story was recorded in the video below. Stephen was able to provide a happy update shortly afterward, saying that another vet had given a more optimistic assessment of her health. The new vet also recalculated her age at 10-12 years old instead of the 3-4 that Stephen was originally told.
Stephen gives his reaction upon hearing the initial estimate of Ella’s remaining time with him, saying: “My first reaction was to be glad that we had given her a real home for the last months of her life, or however long she had left.”
The roommates moved out and Ella officially became Stephen’s cat. He says, “She is very much my cat, and I’m very much her human.”
Stephen put together a bucket list for Ella after getting her initial prognisis. “One of the things I really wanted to do was try taking her outside on a leash. She likes to sit on my window and look outside, so I thought she should have a chance to actually feel the grass beneath her paws.”
Stephen says, “Ella is probably the smartest decision I’ve made in my adult life. Cats with medical conditions deserve love just as much as the rest of them, and they’re so, so ready to give it.”
Ella and Stephen’s story is part of the The Sidekick Series of video stories about rescued pets and their families.
Ella & Stephen
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The happy update on Ella’s health:
To make even one life happy and joyful is a true blessing on both the giver and the recipient. The life of a cat is no less special.
What a kind story – I just adopted 2 litter mates from the shelter myself after having lost 2 cats within a month. One was 14 and suddenly went downhill…cancer. I then got a kitten from a farm and he ended up very sick, but they couldn’t draw the blood necessary to attempt diagnosis – he was losing weight at only 2-1/2 to 3 months old – he lost 1/4 of his body weight in a week so he was very ill so we needed to make the hard decision again. So we have 2 beautiful kitties again. What you did was precious and I am so happy you were able to step up and adopt an adult cat. We have other cats so bringing an adult cat home is just not feasible. Kitty-power!!!
a very nice story…thank you for sharing
Great to hear the update on Ella! Every cat is a little miracle! Happy for you both.