This is Toby. He's a very special cat.
The six-year-old short-haired cat has Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS)—a rare, congenital condition that causes his skin to be unusually elastic and loose. It can be found in both people and animals.
Toby also shares a very special bond with Quinton, a seven-year-old black and white cat who is missing all of his teeth. The two were inseparable buddies in their shelter in Stroud, England, so when Georgina Price and her fiancé Christopher Lardner first discovered them on the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) website, they knew they had to give both of them a new furever home.
"They were found huddled together so they were put up for adoption together because they depended on one another and were bonded like brothers," Price told Best Life.
The couple had just lost their own senior rescue, Herbie, whom they only had for five months and were eager to open up their hearts and their home to a couple of cats that were truly in need. "We had just lost our last rescue cat and Georgina always looked at rescue pages and when we came across these two, we just fell in love," Lardner told Best Life.
Price said they had Herbie on their minds when it came to finding their next furry children. "If we had waited just another five months to adopt, our cat would have died waiting for a home and that makes me so sad," Price said. When they came across Quinton and Toby, the couple had never heard of EDS, but they knew they were up for the challenge.
According to Price and Lardner, the boys quickly settled into their new home—and now, their lives are all belly rubs and bird-watching.
While Toby's condition may make him look sad, Lardner said, "I think they're happy."
And the internet agrees: Toby and Quinton now have more than 10,000 followers on Instagram—where their handle is @tummyandgummy—and everybody loves him.
The two very special boys always have one another's backs. Apparently, Quinton tries to clean up Toby’s face!
While Toby's condition might cause health problems once he gets older, his new humans are more than willing to take on the challenge. They hope his story will spread awareness about EDS and encourage more people to adopt animals with special needs. "We have such a special bond with them," Lardner said. And really, how could you not?
And for another great story about how much love cats have to give, check out This Viral Love Story Between Two Cats Will Restore Your Faith in Romance.
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