Meet Oskar: The blind kitten who is now a YouTube star

[rpannier]

When Mick Szydlowski and his wife, Bethany, hopped in the car to pick up an old autoharp they’d seen on Craigslist, they had no idea they’d be coming home with the next YouTube star. But it didn’t take long for the animal-loving couple to decide that Oskar, a blind kitten and the last of the litter belonging to the folks selling the autoharp, was coming back to Omaha with them.

The Szydlowskis already had one cat at home — Klaus, whom they’d adopted as an adult several years earlier — and they were interested in adding a second pet to their family. “Klaus was kind of our baby; I think a lot of people are like that with their pets,” Mick told TODAY.com. “We had tried to introduce him to other cats, including a kitten, in the past, and he was not very receptive to that. So, we really thought that, if we were going to get another pet, it was going to be a dog.”

Fate had other plans, though, and Oskar — who was born without fully-formed eyeballs — quite literally landed in their arms.


After showing the Szydlowskis the instrument they’d come for, the seller asked if they were interested in a blind kitten. The animal’s prospects weren’t great: If nobody adopted him, he would have either stayed on the farm for a bit longer — among a number of migratory birds of prey, not to mention foxes and coyotes — or been taken to an animal shelter. Neither of those options sat well with the Szydlowskis, and once Bethany scooped the kitten up in her arms, the adoption was a done deal.

“My wife was holding him, kind of like a baby, and rocking him back and forth. He was completely relaxed; his little arms were just flopping by his side, and honestly, he looked like he was smiling,” Mick told TODAY.com. “He was born into this world absolutely trusting of everybody and thinking that this was a beautiful and innocent place, and he was just happy to be here.

link:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45466435/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/t/meet-oskar-blind-kitten-who-now-youtube-star/#.Ttxxi1Y9WOx

note: Yes, I'm on a cute cat posting spree tonight

[Raine]

1. Aw sooo sweet ... THANKS for posting this! nt

:thumbsup:

[Lunabelle]

2. Oh there is such good in so many people

I want to hear more stories like this.

[lbrtbell]

3. He joins Maru and Sparta as my fave YouTube kitties! - n/t

[tavalon]

4. Totally cool

Thanks.