In the small town of Morrilton, Arkansas, a bubbly orange tabby cat named Morris had made the local liquor store his home for over a year.
Morris had won the hearts of both employees and customers with spunky personality and irresistible charm.
Despite how popular he was, the community was late to take action when Morris’s health took a tragic turn for the worse.
Keep reading to find out how this beloved liquor store cat was able to overcome the odds thanks to the help of a kind-hearted rescuer and dedicated vet team!
Morris had earned the reputation of being an exceptionally friendly cat who’d make frequent appearances around the liquor store.
He’d greet customers and make them smile, winning the hearts of many people in the community.
But one day, some of the liquor store workers noticed that Morris had a bad injury on his face.
Thinking his wounds would scab over and heal on their own, no one felt it was urgent to get Morris medical attention.
What they didn’t know was that Morris had developed a severe abscess on his face that ruptured.
His injury only got worse, leaving the left side of his face severely damaged from cheek to neck.
When it became clear Morris’s life was in danger, one of the liquor store employees posted on Facebook begging for help.
Sarah Richardson, rescue coordinator for , saw the post and immediately took action.
She arranged an emergency rescue with one of her volunteer transporters, who jumped in her car at 11pm and made a 2 hour drive to rescue Morris.
But Morris was not going to make it easy for them.
The normally friendly liquor store cat was hiding under the deck, too terrified to come out.
Thankfully, they were able to coax Morris out from under the deck and into a carrier.
However, Morris was in pain, confused, and stressed by all the commotion.
He cried and whimpered the entire car ride home, unable to shake off the fear and anxiety.
Little did he know, the love and care he was about to receive would change his life forever.
When Sarah finally met Morris face-to-face, her heart broke at the sight of his injuries.
“I’d only seen two photos of him on Facebook,” said Sarah.
Morris was in a tremendous amount of pain and Sarah wasted no time getting to work.
She immediately gave him pain medication, giving Morris a chance to take a long, much needed nap.
“It was probably the first time in a long time that he was able to get some real rest,” said Sarah. “The pain he’d endured took a serious toll on his body.”
Sarah took Morris to several vets early the next morning, hoping she’d find someone to take on his case.
“This was unlike any injury I’d ever seen in all my years of cat rescue,” said Sarah. “It looked like half of his face had been ripped off.”
All the vets were taken aback by the severity of his injuries.
They knew he’d require multiple surgeries and skin grafts, but they were uncertain about the outcome.
“After seeing four vets, we finally found a wonderful vet who’d take his case,” said Sarah.
At last, Morris was on the path to heal.
Because of the severity of Morris’s injuries, he was hospitalized at the vet clinic for several weeks.
This meant a lot of quality time with the vet team!
Much like the liquor store employees and customers, the vet team became smitten with sweet Morris.
