I'm still beautiful

Odin is an amazingly special cat. Named for the one-eyed God, Odin has a journey of a story which I feel compelled to share with those of you who are interested to listen.

Odin had a hard life at the beginning, he was an outside cat who got more than his share of human anger and hatred. Initially, the shelter said he's had his eye shot out by a pellet gun. (We found out, close to 11 years after we adopted him, that it was, in fact, a blast from a shotgun with birdshot that had left embedded metal in his head. Thankfully, the vet assured us that it didn't seem to hurt him to leave the shrapnel where it was.)

Unfortunately his eye was lost. Our shelter tried their very best to fix him up, however, his stitching hadn't healed correctly. Also, they had left in his right tooth, which was fractured from impact, to abscess.

I saw images of Odin (called "Winky" by the shelter) on their website in March of 2008, and something about him pulled me. I begged my husband, who at the time didn't want another cat, to at least let me go and take a look at him. He was about a year old at the time and still had the stitches in his eye when he was brought out to us. The woman handed him to my husband and he laid his head against my husband's chest.

Call it love at first sight, the next day we were taking him home. He was clearly hanging on. A strong cat, he pulled through another surgery to remove the abscessed tooth and we discovered through the vet that his blood work returned with his blood sugar through the roof, meaning that not only was he suffering from his ordeal, he was diabetic.

My husband worried for ages that he wouldn't make it, but I kept hoping, kept praying. I applied medicine to his eye to help it heal and kept a close watch on the spot where his tooth was.

Now nearly a year later, he's gained to a healthy weight, his eye has healed marvelously, and his blood sugar is still maintained through insulin shots. He's well behaved, never once fighting me while giving him shots. He sleeps on my legs at night, and purrs nearly every time I touch him. I believe that love, more than anything, kept us going, and has allowed him to be this part of my life.

Even after everything he's been through, he's still beautiful in my eyes. Some may cringe, but I look at him and see an angel.


Edit 5.10.2009: Thank you all so very much for all the sweet and heartwarming comments! I can't possibly reply to all of them, but I greatly appreciate everything said, and I have taken time to read every single one. Odin thanks you too, I'm sure. You've all been so sweet and accepting; and I feel I just can not express my gratitude in words!

Edit 11.19.2011 - Good News! After a trip to the vet today to check his glucose, they've told me that they suspect Odin is in remission from his diabetes! All your sweet thoughts and comments have been amazing, and I greatly appreciate everything. I will update again once they have completed the tests and he is officially deemed in remission!

Edit 1.5.2012 - A Daily Deviation! Oh thank you, thanks to all of you! I'm so surprised! Odin and I appreciate every single comment and favorite (and I read them all). Thank you again, everyone, for sharing his story! I am so touched by you guys.

Edit 1.24.2012 - No more diabetes, it seems, for Odin!!!! We're all certainly thrilled! Also, by request, I have made Odin a facebook fan page. www.facebook.com/LegacyOfOdinC… Come give him a like and share stories and fanart! Also see new pictures posted here!

Edit 11.20.2020 - My sweet boy left us due to cancer in May of 2020. He was deeply loved, comfortable, and at peace. We miss him so dearly, but I have decided to continue his legacy by continuing to adopt animals who have suffered abuse and mistreatment. Our current legacy holder is Freya, who was tossed from the window of a moving vehicle at just 2 months old.

Consider visiting Odin's Legacy on Facebook to follow her story as well. Or just pop in and give us a hello! We'd love to see you. www.facebook.com/LegacyOfOdinC…