Photo by Lisa West Photography

Pearl

During the height of the COVID pandemic, we adopted Pearl from a local animal shelter, where a good Samaritan brought her after finding her as a stray. 

At the shelter, Pearl had recently undergone the surgical removal of her teeth to treat feline stomatitis, a painful inflammatory condition affecting her mouth. Missing fur patches covered her sides from the bed sores she developed during recovery. She also had once broken her short, kinked tail. Nonetheless, to us, she was the most beautiful, loving cat, whom we couldn’t wait to add to our family. 

Over the years, Pearl has shown us and our other pets her feisty, take-charge attitude. Her favorite activities are playing with pipe cleaners and toy worms, chasing her feline brother, Smudge, and "managing" my husband's remote work.

Pearl’s story and recovery from feline stomatitis have inspired my own fight against oromandibular dystonia, a rare neurological movement disorder affecting my mouth and jaws. As I process my recent dystonia diagnosis and recover from bilateral jaw surgery, Pearl calms me with her soft fur and soothing purrs. Even now as she fights mast cell cancer, she lives in the moment and relishes her favorite things.

You can help Pearl reach her fundraising goal of $250 for the DMRF by donating here.