Cat With Crooked Jaw Has Cutest Quirky Smile Thanks To Surgery, TLC

Many people wouldn’t have given Duchess a chance.

The blue-eyed, beige and white cat was a stray in October when someone brought her into Adobe Animal Hospital and Clinic in El Paso, Texas after the feline was hit by a car.

“Most places would’ve just euthanized her, but by some miracle Duchess got lucky and Dr. Meyer and Dr. Gearheart took a chance and repaired her jaw,” veterinary assistant Crystal Tate wrote on GoFundMe.

Vets wired the cat’s jaw back in place and had to pull most of her teeth. “Her chances of survival were slim, but she was a fighter and pulled through,” Tate wrote.

Tate started work at the clinic while Duchess was still in recovery.

“Her mouth was just beginning to heal, the feeding tube had just been removed and she was very thin,” Tate told The Dodo. “The lowest meow caught my attention — her eyes showed so much sadness, but her purrs showed so much love and hope.”

Tate wound up bringing the cat home with her, sharing the crooked-jaw-cat’s adventures on Facebook. Duchess, who Tate believes is about 3 years old, gets along well with her new furry siblings — another cat and two dogs.

Duchess still needs some special care, especially when it comes to eating. The cat dines on canned food that’s been blended with water enough that it’s a liquid she can lap up with her tongue. That doesn’t stop her from enjoying life, though.

“Her jaw is still crooked and it will be for the rest of her life, but it hasn’t crushed her spirit,” she told Buzzfeed.

Though Duchess’ jaw will always be crooked, Tate set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for a reconstructive surgery that would partially straighten the cat’s jaw and improve her quality of life.