In September last year, my brother found Chutki while he was dropping off my little brother at his soccer practice. She was tiny and running after little kids, trying to meow at them for help. When he first saw her, her eyes were all crusted shut. After gently washing them, she finally opened them and that’s when he took the first pictures of her.

She was so small, she could fit in the palm of his hand, and her meow was barely even a whisper. At first, we just planned to help her get healthy and then find her another home since we already had two cats of our own. But after a couple of trips to the vet, we realized she had too many health problems to give away. My dad didn’t trust others to be able to take care of her as well as we did. We had to take her to the ER a lot: Sometimes she would poop blood, or it would be really dark and solid, and other times it would be liquid. She was also losing skin on the top of her head from ringworm, and some mornings she couldn’t even open her eyes. No matter what we tried, she wouldn’t eat. She was really picky and wasn’t putting on any weight or growing like our previous cats had. We also took her to the vet for a foot abscess.

Chutki has (and had) a bunch of health issues: deformities in her feet, a respiratory infection (which has resulted in the loss of voice), ringworm, liver problems, and enlarged kidneys. Even now, we’re not 100% sure what’s wrong with her, as she still needs more tests to know what’s causing her problems. She has to eat a special prescription diet, but she won’t eat it on her own. We have to hand-feed her, topping her food with a treat such as purée and holding it close to her face for her to smell that and eat it. Depending on how hungry she is, we feed her 4–6 times a day.

My dad wakes up early to feed her and then feeds her again late at night, and everyone in the family helps take care of her. Even though she’s almost a year old, she still only weighs around 3 pounds. But she’s full of life. She loves going outside, sunbathing, and just lying around watching everyone in the hall doing their thing.

Even with all her problems, Chutki has a strong spirit. She may be tiny and fragile, but she’s a fighter who only remembers love. Caring for her isn’t always easy, but seeing her happy makes it totally worth it. She’s our family.

We also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated to Chutki’s GoFundMe. You have no idea how much it means to our family. Every little bit helps us take care of her, and your support gives us hope and comfort. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping our little fighter.