AUSTIN, Texas — UPDATE May 30, 2026
After waiting more than a year for a family, Leela the rescue cat has finally been adopted.
The Siamese Oriental Snowshoe mix, who is mostly blind and was once abandoned at a veterinary office, found her forever home on May 22 through Siamese Oriental and Snowshoe Cat Rescue.
Rescuers say it was a perfect match. Leela’s new owner has experience caring for blind cats, and the pair bonded immediately.
After a difficult start in life, Leela is finally getting the happy ending she deserves.
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Our "Forgotten Friends" series showcases a dog or cat each week that has spent a lengthy time at an area shelter, just waiting for someone to notice them and bring them home to love.
Some cats wait a few days. Some wait a few weeks.
Leela has been waiting a year.
The 4-year-old Siamese Oriental Snowshoe mix came to Siamese Oriental and Snowshoe Cat Rescue after being left behind in a veterinary office waiting room — just abandoned, with a microchip that was never registered.
When rescuers found her, Leela was underweight, scared and struggling. She had already lost one eye, and the other showed signs of scarring. Today, she’s mostly blind — but you wouldn’t know it from the way she loves.
And oh, she loves.
Leela leans into every hug. She melts into your arms. And her purr? Rescuers say it’s the kind that can quiet a bad day and make everything feel okay again.
“She’s pure magic,” they say.
Because of her vision, Leela needs a calm, consistent home — one where furniture doesn’t move much, lighting stays soft and someone can help with occasional eye drops.
She isn’t the kind of cat you’ll see under bright lights at an adoption center. In fact, those lights overwhelm her.
So she waits.
And waits.
CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS HERE
One eyed cat Leela waits a year for someone to see her magic | Forgotten Friends
Saturday marks 365 days in care.
A full year of being overlooked.
But the right person — the one who sees her not as “special needs,” but as especially loving — could change everything.
Leela doesn’t need much.
Just a quiet place, a steady routine… and someone to hold her while she purrs the sadness away.
Could you be the right fit for Leela? Reach out to SOS Cat Rescue & Rehoming and schedule a meet and greet. The fee is $200 to adopt Leela.
SOS Cat Rescue & Rehoming is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming abused, abandoned, and neglected cats and kittens. Based in Texas, they work throughout the state — and beyond — to provide a second chance to cats in need, from high-risk shelters, the streets, and difficult living situations.
Photos & Phone Calls
Due to limited resources, they are unable to provide additional photos or schedule phone calls before receiving a completed application.
Once your application is submitted and pre-approved, they will:
- Provide more photos (if available)
- Set up a conversation with an SOS Team member to discuss the best kitty match
- Connect you with the foster family for questions and a video visit
Meet & Greets
SOS Cat Rescue is a foster-based organization, not a brick-and-mortar shelter. For the safety of their fosters and cats, in-person Meet & Greets are only arranged after:
- Receiving a completed application
- Issuing a pre-approval
Out-of-state? They’ll gladly arrange a video Meet & Greet instead.
Application Requirements
They work with a 3rd party vendor, Adopter Passport to help process applications. They are not responsible for the decision, they help them speed up the process.
Please submit your application HERE.
To avoid delays:
- Answer all questions completely. “N/A” answers will prevent submission.
- Include a co-adopter. You may not list yourself as your own co-adopter.
- Attach veterinary records for your current pets showing:
Proof of spay/neuter
Current core vaccines
Rabies vaccination
Microchip documentation (if available)
They do not place kittens in homes with intact (unspayed/unneutered) pets unless your vet provides a medical exemption.
After You Apply
- Please follow up with your references (Vet, personal and/or landlord) to ensure they respond quickly.
- Completed applications can take 3–4 business days to process.
If you are interested in adopting, reach out to them to schedule a meet and greet.
If you'd like to help out the rescue with a donation, click here. The shelter also maintains both CHEWY and AMAZON Wish Lists to make it easy for their supporters to help care for the cats in their rescue.
Make a difference in a pet's life by becoming a volunteer for a team that feels more like a creative family. CLICK HERE for more info.
Remember when you adopt a shelter pet, you save two lives... the one you bring home with you and the one that now will be saved because the shelter has more room.
You can go to KENS5.com/ForgottenFriends to check out more stories, photos and videos of adoptable pets, plus updates on pets we’ve featured who have found a new “forever” home.
If you know of a Forgotten Friend that has been overlooked and is still looking for a "furr-ever" home, contact Andrea at acarden@kens5.com.
