Our friends are our source of love, care, and comfort. They are the first ones we turn to whenever we feel blue, face a problem, or need support. Apparently, things are not that different in animals either.

One kitten did the same!

When Samantha Smart and her family spotted one very small cat around their neighborhood in Florida, that was meowing for days, they knew they have to do something about it.

She said:

“It wasn’t just a meow, it was a sad little cry. He had the whole neighborhood working together to find and trap him. We have one cat already so we weren’t really looking to add another, but it felt like Ponyo was meant for us!”

The family immediately knew that Ponyo was meant to stay, and they decided to adopt him. Then, Smart’s daughter, Violet, concluded that he needed a special stuffed animal to make him feel comfortable and secure.

Samantha explained that her daughter “spent a while” choosing the perfect sleeping buddy for the kitten. The choice fell on a stuffed dragon, appropriately named Dragon, that became a security blanket for Ponyo.

She added that Ponyo sleeps with Dragon every night and he spends a great amount of time dragging the toy everywhere around the house.

When he needed to be neutered, the family knew that going to the vet will make him anxious – so they decided that they should send his companion along with him.

Ponyo went to Operation Catnip, a spay-neuter organization that focuses mainly on stray, free-roaming community cats, to get neutered.

This “compassion community comes together to help provide bright futures for kittens found outdoors.” As soon as he arrived, the staff became fond of the little kitten that was hiding behind his dear friend dragon toy for comfort.

As Melissa Jenkins of Operation Catnip explained, Ponyo was very nervous upon his arrival at the clinic. All of them noticed the stuffed toy friend in the carrier with him, and they put the dragon in the kennel with him. To ease the mind of the frightened kitten, they prepped Dragon first for surgery as Ponyo watched.

She said that “Ponyo hid behind the dragon at first and clearly took comfort in it.”

It was obvious that Dragon made him feel more secure in the new place – so they made sure the toy was next to him all the time.

Jenkins said:

“We thought it would be really great to send the dragon on the same journey through the clinic as Ponyo, so we had fun giving the dragon the identical services.”  

During Ponyo’s entire “adventure” at the clinic, his dragon was constantly beside him, and as soon as the surgery was over and he woke up, his much-loved dragon was the first thing he could see, to make him feel better.

There is no doubt that Ponyo and his dragon will be inseparable in the future as well!

The two best friends even have a Facebook page, so you can follow their adventures online. Fans revealed that Ponyo is a Turkish Van, and he now spends his time to bond with his feline sister Aimee as well.

So, Ponyo is one happy kitten to become a member of the Smart family!

Sources:
blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com
itsonlinemag.blogspot.com
www.theanimalclub.net