This is WHY I became such an animal lover..

Gary's (Almost) Tragic Rescue Story

Gary was clinging onto life when his rescuer's found him.

It was a cold Thanksgiving in rural mid-Missouri when Travis and Lexy were walking around the farm. Travis noticed by the grain silo-- laid a small, lifeless orange kitten. The kitten's eyes were opened and the 'third eyelid' had begun to fold over. He had a faint heartbeat and was almost frozen to the touch. He had no wounds, so they assumed that he was freezing to death. Lexy was devastated and insisted that the kitten be saved. Travis bent down to get a closer look at the helpless kitty, when all of a sudden the kitty opened his mouth. Travis then carefully picked the kitten up and held him close to keep him warm. His heart was faint, and his life was slipping away.

Taking him to a vet was not a good option because no vet was open on Thanksgiving, and the nearest one was over a hour away! The closest option was a pet groomer a few miles down the road. So Lexy and Travis rushed the kitten to this groomer to hopefully get some type of advice. The groomer told them that the kitten was dying, and the best thing to do was keep him warm so he could pass peacefully and with love.

Determined to restore the life in this kitten, Lexy wrapped him in a heated blanket, placed the kitten in front of a space heater, and massaged warm water with wet food down his throat with a syringe. For the first couple hours, the food was just going down the side of the kitty's mouth. He was still alive, but barely.

Lexy prayed. And prayed a lot. She promised Travis that if the kitty survived, she would take him to the shelter back at home instead of keeping him. But thinking the kitten would actually make it was wishful thinking.

After 4-5 hours of prayer, using a syringe for food and warm water, lots of love and warmth, the kitty was still unconscious. Lexy and Travis decided to go to a family member's house for dinner. They expected either the cat to be gone or still unresponsive.

But they never expected what happened next.

When they returned, Lexy pulled back the blanket to find the kitten awake and very much alive!! He was a little rough looking, but he was very happy to eat lots of food and drink lots of water. He purred as soon as Lexy started to pet him. They instantly bonded and soon became inseparable. Everyone who witnessed what happened knew it was a miracle.. At that point, Lexy and Travis knew the kitten was not going to a shelter. He was coming home with them.

They took Gary to the vet when they got home, and the vet was stunned that he was alive! His blood work and everything came back normal.

Gary is now a 4 year old healthy, happy boy! He showers his family and sister with love everyday for saving his life.

First picture is right after Gary woke up and the second is him getting lots of kisses from his sister, Gracie.