An earless cat has finally found his forever home after people kept passing him by at the shelter.

Otitis is a beautiful senior cat, who was patiently waiting at the shelter for a loving home, but probably because of his age and his disability, people kept passing him by. That all changed when a woman saw him and fell absolutely in love with him.

Molly Lichtenwalner is a graduate student, she was on the search for a beautiful cat who would help her deal with her anxiety. She was suffering from extreme anxiety after a car accident and decided adopting an animal would help her feel a little more comforted, as nothing is better than snuggling up to your pets.

She has always been a big fan of cats, and knowing that senior cats with special needs really struggle to get adopted, she promised herself that she would adopt an older cat with a disability, meaning both the furry feline and Molly would help and need each other in exactly the same way.

She decided to look on the incredible site, PetFinder, and noticed Otitis, a nine-year-old cat with no ears. Molly instantly knew that he was one the one that she should adopt. He was being looked after by the Feline Rescue Association of Baltimore at the time, she instantly enquired more about him and found out that he had lost his ears due to cysts which had formed, his previous owners could not afford to treat this and as a result gave him into the rescue centre.

His ears had to be removed and Otitis is now deaf but this never once phased Molly. She was the first person to ever submit an application for him, which exemplifies the way disabled cats are often overlooked by many. It did not take long for Otitis to come out of his shell and now he and his mum are inseparable, with snuggles and kisses ever day.

Molly may have rescued Otitis but the adorable cat has also changed Molly’s life forever. He acts as a very strong emotional support animal, constantly snuggling her when she needs it the most – like during a panic attack or when she is stressed, sometimes being the only thing that can actually calm her down.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKb_Hoehr06/?taken-by=adventuresofotitis

Molly is a supporter of “#adoptdontshop”, which is basically the idea that people should consider adopting a rescue animal from a shelter than buying a pet from a breeder or pet store. This way, you are saving a life and also making more room in the shelters for the millions of animals which shelters take in every year. The cost of your animal goes directly to the shelter which helps more animals who really need it too. Otitis is a great example of how adopting a pet can be one of the most rewarding and incredible experiences.

You can follow Otitis on Instagram, to see how Molly and himself continue to rescue each other.