Do you recognise this beautiful face? Leela arrived at our Lonsdale shelter with her left eye so severely injured that it was bulging out.

At just four months old, the beautiful kitten endured a severe injury to her left eye, likely caused by being attacked by another animal.

To our vets, Leela’s eye was so bad that it barely even resembled an eye.

“It was simply unrecognisable as an eye – almost like a balloon full of water,” RSPCA veterinarian Julie says.

After being rushed to our Lonsdale shelter via our RSPCA animal ambulance, Leela was given immediate pain relief and our veterinarians worked closely to remove her left eye.

But with a little help from some kindhearted supporters, it didn’t take long for Leela to recover.

Compassionate South Australians chip in to help Leela

Poor Leela’s condition confronted even our most experienced vets.

Alongside her tragic incident, it was further discovered that the young kitty had a case of ear mites.

For our dedicated team, it was so important to relieve darling young Leela from pain, but her eye and ear treatment did come at a cost to our charity.

We reached out to our supporters to help Leela and were absolutely touched.

Incredibly, kindhearted animal lovers donated over $1,500 to cover the costs of Leela’s treatment and rehabilitation.

Leela was soon ready to become even more of a purr-fect pet to a family who would make sure she felt safe in her home – and had someone just like her as another unique companion…

Beautiful Leela wins over new family with her brave face and loving character

Wendy came across Leela and her story when Wendy’s daughter tagged her in Leela’s fundraising post on Facebook. The sweetest part? Leela’s treating veterinarian, vet Julie, shared the post with her friend, Wendy’s daughter.

Despite having not met Leela yet, Wendy just knew it was instant love. Without a doubt, she wanted Leela to join her little band.

After Wendy lost her two 18-year-old cats last year, she was waiting for that special someone to fit into her family.

“I was offered a number of kittens, but even though I wanted another cat, the fit didn’t seem right,” Wendy says.

That is, of course, until she saw Leela.

Since Leela came into Wendy’s care a few months ago, the brave kitty has made sure to make herself feel well and truly at home.

“Leela Lightbody came into our house and instantly stamped her authority!” Wendy tell us.

“She fronted our two dogs, much to their surprise,” Wendy adds.

“Our rag doll cat still isn’t impressed but tolerates the old jump on the head.”

It also seems darling Leela is testing the boundaries of her new home.

“Only having one eye hasn’t slowed her down one bit,” Wendy says.

“She is now at the naughty stage of jumping on the kitchen side. When I say no, she looks at me as if to say ‘really?’”

What a cheeky girl!

‘She isn’t alone with her one eye here’

Leela’s fur siblings have made her feel extremely welcome into her new home.

Only being a kitten, she knows she isn’t alone with her one eye.

Wendy shares, “she isn’t alone with her one eye here. I also have a 35-year-old pony – Sambo – with Cushing and one eye.”

“So to her, all is normal, and she is just part of the family,” she adds.

We couldn’t imagine a more perfect fit!

Thank you to our supporters

Without a doubt, Leela has stolen the hearts of not only everyone here at RSPCA, but also the hearts of our supporters.

Thank you.

From the bottom of our hearts, we’re so grateful to all our supporters who made Leela’s new life with Wendy and the family a reality. If you’d like to continue helping animals like Leela, head over here to see our current emergency funds.

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