Found A Lost Kitten
When Kathryn Van Beek spotted a lost kitten looking for its mother, she never would have guessed the outcome of rescuing the kitten. Something was quite different about this tiny feline friend. What could possibly be the difference between this kitten among other kittens?
Facebook/Bruce the cat
Well, after some weeks, the orphaned kitten’s fur began to turn patchy and dark. As for Van Beek, this was quite new to her. And yes, it was confirmed. The Kitten’s fur color began to change magically in front of Van Beek as it continued to grow.
Bruce The Cat
The cat was later then named Bruce. Bruce the cat has become quite popular on the internet. However, that wasn’t always the case for Bruce the cat. Back in November 3, 2015, Bruce the cat was found clinging to life in his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
Fortunately for Bruce, a kind woman found him and save his life. Bruce’s fate suddenly was turned around when a woman called Kathryn Van Beek found him clinging to life and hurriedly rescued the small kitten. Quite an interesting event for the tiny cat.
A Rainy Day
Bruce was so lucky that day that he was found by Kathryn as he came frighteningly close to missing out on such a difficult rescue. The day that Bruce was being rescued was not a pleasant day as there was torrential rainfall happening in the town.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
It seriously was a rainy day and it made Bruce’s rescue even harder for Kathryn. It was even a miracle that Kathryn spotted Bruce even with all of that rainfall going on. Kathryn even said that at first, he thought that Bruce was just a tiny gray mouse hanging on to his life.
A Cute Little Kitten
When Kathryn got closer out of curiosity, she then realized that the tiny rodent she thought she saw was actually a tiny cute kitten. At first, Kathryn was a bit hesitant as Bruce wasn’t even meowing when she found him. Kathryn van Beek also shared to Love Meow on January 4, 2016, about the incident.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
Imagine, seeing a kitten fighting for its dear life, what would you actually feel? For Kathryn, it felt like she needed to do something, and that’s what she did, she rescued the poor tiny kitten. Kathryn then, later on, added: “The kitten was just crawling slowly along on his tummy.”
Seeking For His Mother
As for Kathryn, she said that after she rescued that kitten, the kitten keeps trying to find its mother. And Kathryn also informed the news that the kitten isn’t really old, in fact, his eyes were still closed, and he still had his umbilical cord attached, meaning the kitten was just a newborn.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
No one seemed to know about the kitten at that place or how the kitten came to be orphaned, but one thing is for sure, Kathryn couldn’t just leave the kitten there. So Kathryn did what any animal lover would do. She decided to keep the tiny kitten. She named the kitten Bruce after Batman’s orphaned alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
Becoming Bruce’s Parents
With Bruce being adopted by Kathryn van Beek, Bruce now is inside in a warm, dry place while Kathryn van Beek began nursing Bruce back to health. However, becoming a parent to a newborn of any species is no easy task at all as the newborn will be needing a lot of attention and care.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
But for Bruce’s adopted parents? Both Kathryn van Beek and her husband rose up to the challenge and tried their best for little Bruce. Despite the task being really challenging, they still were motivated and determined to help Bruce on his recovery and growth.
First Few Vulnerable Months
During the few months of Bruce’s life after being adopted by his foster parents, Bruce was pretty much very vulnerable, and the parents had to bottle-feed the tiny furbaby. Not only was he vulnerable, but Bruce was still very fragile so they really had to be very gentle with him.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
The fur parents were on a 24-hour kitten watch as they had to be very careful with little Bruce. Not long after, Bruce started to do a little meow and found his tiny voice. Bruce wasn’t shy about letting his fur parents know if he was hungry. He just lets a meow and the fur parents knew that it was time for him to eat.
The Little Survivor
Bruce’s health wasn’t always sunshine and daisies. Even after being taken care of by his foster parents, Bruce always was on the brink of death several times. Fortunately, he seemed to survive all of those incidents. As a result of these near-death experiences, even van Beek’s work colleagues became concerned for little Bruce.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
As a result of these, Back on December 24, 2016, van Beek told the NZ Herald, “I was working for Auckland Council at that time. They were really interested, so I started to make a Facebook page for little Bruce’s updates.” Despite all of the near-death experiences, fortunately, Little Bruce seemed to survive it all.
Bruce Is Changing
In a short span of time, van Beek didn’t expect Bruce to become popular. “At first it was a real life-and-death battle, and then I thought interest might fade,” she said. However, something unusual started to happen to Bruce right in front of van Beek’s very eyes.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
Remember the color of Bruce’s fur when Kathryn first saw Bruce? Yes, Bruce’s light gray fur started to darken and become patchy. At first, the dark and patchy colors were only limited to his tiny paws and face, but soon, they started to spread through Bruce’s body.
More Popular
The unusual changes in Bruce’s body were a mystery to van Beek. However, this update about the mystery changes in Bruce caused Bruce’s popularity to rise up more. Not long, Bruce was more popular than anyone could have ever predicted. Bruce is quite the celebrity now.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
“Bruce started to turn black and it made people interested in him” van Beek shared to NZ Herald. As Bruce rose to more popular, van Beek decided to give what the world wanted. Bruce had social media platforms on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and of course, youtube.
Bruce In The Book
It didn’t stop there, Bruce even set his sights on the literary world with a book about his journey in life, of course, written and illustrated by no other than van Beek. Bruce’s changes were truly magnificent and quite unusual and it spike interest in many people around the world.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
However, one question remains on everyone’s mind: what caused the color changes in Bruce’s fur? The foster parents then decided to do research to find out the cause of these unusual changes. Fortunately, they find out the explanation for these unusual changes. This condition was called fever coat.
Fever Coat
Fever coat is an unusual condition triggered only when mother cats experience upheaval during pregnancy. This disturbance towards the mother might be caused by stress, or worst, the fur mommy catches an infection. this can also occur towards the mother cat if the mother cat was given medication without knowledge of her pregnancy.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
Thus, resulting in having a fever coat which displaces the color pigment of a kitten’s fur. The explanation is that the fur doesn’t know what color it is yet and therefore takes on a light hue color. It was also stated that it might take up to eight long months for the pigment to reaffirm itself.
Moved To Another Place
After becoming popular, Bruce and the van Beeks moved to Dunedin, where all of Bruce’s exploits continue to be chronicled. A lot of people were truly inspired by Bruce on how he clings to his life and also how he survived all of those tough experiences.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
From a tiny helpless cat to a loved cat by his foster parents, Bruce’s life has been turned by the kindness of a stranger who later on became his mom. It shows us that everyone can do it. Everyone can be good. And the goodness will spread to other people.
Wandered A Lot
Bruce truly was an inspiration. He gathered over 20,000 fans all over the world and still counting. Most of the fans are from America and Germany. Bruce also sometimes wander a lot as Bruce’s vet said that it’s probably because Bruce’s mother was a stray cat.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
According to the Vet, Bruce might have been dropped by his mother when his mother was just wandering. Bruce’s mother might have been frightened and never came back for him, or, his mother might have never noticed that she dropped Bruce somewhere.
Becoming An Internet Sensation
Bruce’s popularity didn’t stop there. He kept inspiring people all over the world. In fact, there was another special cat that was found just like Bruce who also had an unusual condition. And No, the unusual condition that the other cat has wasn’t a fever coat.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
I mean, who would have thought? That this tiny cat would become so popular that it ended up inspiring a lot of people? Truly a wonderful event that not only made Bruce survive all of that but also, it gave an opportunity to the van Beeks to care for such a special kitten.
Bruce’s Journey In Life
Before the van Beeks knew, Bruce is growing up quite normally. Bruce also grew up not only by himself and his foster parents. Bruce also had a big sister named Jager, who was not very impressed with Bruce when he first arrived at his foster home.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
Bruce recently celebrated his first birthday. A crowd of people gathered to sing him a happy birthday, and he received cards from all over the world. A local cake-maker even made him a Bruce-shaped cake in his honor! Looking at the early photos of Bruce, you’d never believe he would come so far, or turn into such a handsome cat.
From A Weak Cat To A Magnificent One
Long story short, Bruce is now living happily with his foster parents, and of course, her big sister Jager. From a tiny weak cat to a magnificent one. Truly an amazing story. Bruce’s life should be considered as one of the most inspiring life journeys.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
If you were van Beek, would you help Bruce in that situation? Many fans stated that they would have done the same for Bruce. Throughout the world, Bruce’s story knocked on everyone’s heart. More people helped abandoned cats and adopted them.
Gathering Their Resources For Teddy
The van Beek family was quite amused at how Bruce made the world a better place for abandoned cats. And of course, this would not be possible if it weren’t for Bruce’s foster parents, the van Beeks. Many people thanked the van Beeks for taking care of Bruce.
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As a result of their thanks, they donated a lot to the family and of course, shared their story with other people. Bruce truly was a blessing in disguise. Aside from being a magnificent cat, Bruce was quite charming and very affectionate towards his foster parents.
Where Is Bruce Now?
People are wondering where and how is Bruce doing now? Well, Bruce is doing well with his family in Dunedin, New Zealand. Bruce is also trying to practice mouse catching according to the van Beeks, however, Bruce hasn’t caught his first mouse yet.
History.com
And of course, as his foster parents, the van Beeks just let Bruce do whatever he wants to do. Bruce sometimes wanders around their place, sometimes he annoys his big sister Jager which results in a little cat chase game. They live quite a happy life.
The Second Book
Kathryn van Beek also decided to make a second book about Bruce’s journey in life. It’s called Bruce Goes Outside as Bruce began to wander outside and enjoy the beautiful world. As for the van Beeks, they sighed a relief that Bruce is enjoying his life.
Facebook/Bruce the cat
“It’s just an interesting hobby,” van Beek added. “I think he brings his fans a bit of light relief.” Bruce is now fever-coat-free, and these days, he turns into a beautiful black cat with beautiful sparkling green eyes. Bruce’s mystery was uncovered and Bruce and the van Beeks continue to live normally.