In her heart and mind, Apple will always be a kitten. Something happened to the 18-month-old kitten, either in her mama’s body or when she was tiny. Apple’s chromosomes may be a bit different, or she could have been subjected to a toxin very early. Whatever caused it, Apple will go through life with a kitten’s mental age.

Yet, that isn’t necessarily bad, if Apple, who’s spayed, is protected and appreciated. She’ll always be trusting, always amazed at new things — sometimes several times – and always sweet and motivated by only love.

Some abnormal cats, like one named Monty, have become Internet sensations. These special cats just need to live with someone who appreciates them, someone who wants a kitten in a cat’s body forever.

Three-year-old Freddy, who’s recently neutered, looks a little unhappy in his photo. That look accurately expresses how Freddy felt when his photo was taken. The confused boy was happily settled in a home and felt fine about being a boy in every sense. After three years of life, Freddy felt that he understood the world.

Suddenly the people he trusted changed Freddy’s reality. They took him to the shelter. Anyone, of any species, would be miffed and afraid. Being stuffed in a carrier and taken to be neutered, vaccinated and treated for fleas didn’t make Freddy feel better.

However, Freddy learned to love people when he was a kitten. He’s already forgiven these new people. Still, he wants to quickly move to his forever home.

Most pet lovers tell anyone who’s interested about their cat or dog. Yet, frequently people bring an animal to the shelter, explaining that the animal, the one clinging to them, is a stray. That was what the person who delivered 11-month-old, social, golden, purring boy Braxton said.

Later, a shelter visitor recognized Braxton. His whole life, young Braxton belonged to and loved the people who described him as a stray. Maybe they were embarrassed to say that, for them, an adolescent kitten isn’t as much fun as a toddling one.

Still, knowing more about the kitten, now labeled Braxton, now neutered, would have helped him. It might have made the kitten less stressed if the staff could have called him by the name he knew.

The holidays are happy times, unless you spend them alone, in a shelter. It’s especially sad because this is 11-month-old Holly’s first Christmas. It’s sad, too, because Holly remembers being adored as a kitten. The pretty little white girl, with gold decorations, can’t talk about that, but Holly’s trust in and love of people shows it.

Yet, Holly has known worse times than being alone in the shelter for a day. She was abandoned. She was starving. Then Holly was in the rain; then the wind; then the cold. Then she was desperately sick.

She’s been to the vet and been tested for the scary diseases, FIV and feline leukemia. She doesn’t have them. Holly almost died simply from not being loved and cared for.

Vada is in her second favorite place in her current world, her cat bed. The pretty copper-colored tabby’s favorite place is on a friendly person’s lap. However, laps are hard to access in the shelter. So Vada settles for a place that almost feels happy.

Of course, Vada’s used to settling for almost, almost happy, almost safe, almost loved. Veda’s sweet personality and longing to cuddle show that she was a pet, before someone forced her to be a stray.

The word “stray” usually indicates that a creature wandered accidentally. Yet, 11-month-old, spayed, vaccinated Vada adores people so much that she never would have left them willingly. Veda was forced to stray. Now she longs to be allowed to stay home, with someone she loves.