Nicole from Germany always dreamed of having a cat, but she never thought that she would suddenly have two cats at the same time.
During her visit to a local farm, she spotted two kittens hiding in the corner of a barn. The kittens were only four-months-old at that time. They were in critical condition and Nicole knew that they desperately needed medical attention right away. She knew that without her help the kittens would not live for long.
Nicole told Love Meow, “They were in a desolate condition with mites and infections in their ears. It hurt me to see them suffer, so I took both home.” They both had beautiful black and white coats and were very playful. Nicole decided to name them ‘Elli’ and ‘Rosie’ and with Nicole’s attention, the kittens quickly recovered to a healthy state.
Ever since the first time Nicole started taking care of the kittens she thought that Elli was a bit different from other cats. “She was very playful and sometimes acted more like a dog than a cat,” Nicole said.
A few months later, Nicole noticed a small white patch on Elli’s black coat. “It wasn’t there at the beginning. I thought it was lint and tried to remove it, but it turned out to be her fur.”
Elli’s appearance started to change since then and more patches continued to form all over her coat. Scared that Elli might have a rare disease, Nicole took her to the vet to find out what might be causing the marks.
The vet explained that Elli has a very rare condition called vitiligo. Vitiligo occurs when patches of the skin/fur lose their pigment. This rare condition affects 0.5-2% of the general population in humans and is even more uncommon in animals as many different animal species can develop this condition.
The condition didn’t cause any physical harm to Elli but only gave her more unique and beautiful fur.
Some may say that these unique featured looks like snowflakes but Nicole confirms that it makes her look like a little cute owl. “She looks like a little snow owl,” Nicole said. “She is so cute and her fur continues to change every day.”
Do you know of any animals with this rare condition? Share your stories in the comments below!
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