One of the actual benefits of widespread social media access and use is all the great tales we get to be a part of as they develop, and there are few better examples than animal rescue, especially special needs cats!
The animal rescue, foster, rehabilitation, and adoption industries are doing fantastic work, and social media has played a significant role.

Look no further than Pinocchio if you have any doubts.
Pinocchio is a strange feline that has overcome significant difficulties and been on a medical roller coaster, but thanks to Friends for Life Rescue Network, he is still living his best cat life.

Jacqueline Santiago of Friends for Life Rescue Network noticed a photo of a kitten with clear congenital abnormalities in the summer of 2020.
They weren’t sure what was wrong with the kitten at first, but he was taken in by a rescue organization. “He came malnourished, dehydrated, and flea-infested,” Jacqueline said at the time.

Pinocchi was three months old at the time, but he was still the size of a kitten aged five to six weeks! “A big umbilical hernia that will require surgical correction, a crossbite causing his canines to jab into his lower jaw (which will require removal), a malformed snout, and probably hydrocephalus,” according to the kitten’s medical history at FFLRN.

Mel Lamprey offered to foster the kitten after seeing how much medical attention and rehabilitation it would require. Mel is a seasoned foster parent who has previously cared for long-term, medically complex foster children and has been fostering nonstop for more than three years.

Pinocchio, or Poke as he is affectionately known, will be adopted at some point. He is not currently available for adoption due to his extensive medical demands.
Friends for Life and Mel have both explained to inquiring fans why Poke needs to have fewer medical needs because COVID-related roadblocks have slowed progress considerably.

“He’s a genuinely cheerful guy who likes everyone – other people, other cats and dogs,” Mel continues.

“He runs up to everybody who enters the room and climbs up to their shoulder to perch,” Jacqueline said in an interview with The Dodo. He likes to rub up against you, play, and jump around.”

“I can’t believe how much this brave guy has been through, and he still has his ‘I’m great, I can do anything attitude!” adds Mel.

Pinocchio may have a unique appearance and face health challenges, but it’s clear that he’s just as much a cat as any other, and it’s wonderful that Friends for Life and Mel have been able to keep his adoring fans updated as well as raise awareness and support for the ups and downs of fostering medically complex cats.

“We call this Pinocchio’s ‘Fraggle angle,’” Mel writes. I’m sorry you missed it if you don’t know what a Fraggle is.”

Pinocchio gets three cheers!
You may follow Pinocchio on Instagram, but don’t forget to support animals in need by visiting Friends for Life Rescue Network and Mel’s Foster Wish List.

Pinocchio is also selling this incredibly awesome t-shirt, with all revenues going to Friends for Life Rescue Network!