Top Hat’s life almost ended before it had truly begun. When he was found, the tiny kitten carried more injuries than most could survive — a raw wound stretched across his head, an abscess on his neck, and a limp that made each step unsteady. And yet, through the pain, he purred. That resilience, and the community that rallied around him, turned a moment of crisis into a story of healing and belonging.

A Text, a Photo, and a Race Against Time

Top Hat’s journey began at San José Animal Care & Services (SJACS). Late one afternoon, Rescue & Animal Movement Program Manager Jessica “JZ” received an urgent text and a single photo: a kitten with a grievous head wound, an abscess on his neck, and a limp.

“It was one of those photos where you don’t have to ‘glean’ anything,” JZ recalls. “It was obvious this kitten was in really rough shape. But my second thought was, we’ve helped a cat like this before.”

SJACS stabilized Top Hat overnight, and the next morning he was in HSSV’s care. “When he arrived, he was dull and weak,” JZ says, “but he started purring almost immediately.” Our medical team triaged him, treated the infection, managed his pain, and prepared him for what would become a remarkable recovery.

Medicine, Skill, and Something Like a Miracle

Top Hat had a severe degloving injury across the top of his head and a deep abscess on his neck. The wound was too infected to close at first; he needed time, antibiotics, careful topical care, and calories—lots of them.

 

“The first days were about infection control and building him up,” JZ says. “We were syringe feeding every four to five hours. It felt like a little ballet—holding his head gently, giving him breaks, keeping him comfortable. And then, one day, he stopped fighting the syringe and leaned in. That’s when I thought, Okay. You’re going to be fine.”

From there, the progress was dramatic. “Every bandage change was a surprise gift,” JZ smiles. “Two days would pass, we’d lift the gauze, and the wound would be significantly smaller. We had plans, but he kept healing faster than we expected.”

Top Hat’s head tilt remained, but his life blossomed around it. HSSV veterinarian Dr. Sanders noted, “He has no other neurologic signs and appears to have adapted to this head tilt very well. He is active, playful, and comfortable.” Without prior medical history, the exact cause remains uncertain—trauma, a past ear issue, a vascular event, or idiopathic vestibular disease—but it has neither worsened nor improved since his arrival. “We’re very hopeful this is a stable condition,” Dr. Sanders adds, while acknowledging the small possibility of future complications.

From Fragile to Fearless: Learning to “Kitten” Again

Even as his wound shrank, Top Hat had some catching up to do. “The trauma and illness left him a few weeks behind developmentally,” JZ shares. “At seven or eight weeks, he had the coordination of a four-week-old. But as he got healthier, he found his paws—using the litter box, chasing toys, climbing, and finally doing all the boisterous, ridiculous things kittens do.”

When his playful side came roaring back, Top Hat moved briefly to a second foster, Gee, where he could romp around with dogs and learn better play manners. Then, back on our adoption floor, we paired him with a kitten friend—someone who matched his energy and spirit. On June 10, cleared for adoption and looking a bit like he’d just had a questionable haircut, Top Hat was ready for his future.

“Top Hat Mode” and a Family’s Love

That future arrived in the form of Mindy and Leo.

“Top Hat has settled in wonderfully and has become such a sweet, funny part of our family,” Mindy says. “After you shared his photos and story with us, I was truly touched. His very presence reminds me every day of how precious life is.”

From day one, Top Hat’s trust was striking. “On his first day home, he and Nana curled up and slept on our laps,” Mindy shares. “He lets us hold him in our arms, sleeping sweetly like a baby. He’s gentle and playful with guests, and we’ve never seen him hiss at anyone.”

The head tilt? It’s part of who he is now. “Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to affect his life at all,” Mindy says. “We don’t want to restrict him—we just want him to live as a happy little cat.”

And then there’s “Top Hat Mode.” “At least once a day, he becomes super clingy and leads me to the big mat in the living room for a kneading session,” Mindy laughs. “He throws himself into it, purring and burying himself in my arms. So many times Leo has found us both asleep on the mat, neither of us wanting to get up.”

 

It Takes a Community

If you ask JZ what truly saved Top Hat, she’ll talk about people—partners, fosters, donors, staff—moving in sync.

“Cases like this are effort heavy more than ‘fancy-equipment’ heavy,” she explains. “We’ve lost some facility luxuries after the fire, but this story is a reminder: great outcomes come from skill, creativity, and community. Our partners at SJACS trusted our capacity, and we were able to say yes because our supporters make that capacity possible.”

Partnerships matter beyond one animal too. “When we take specialized medical cases, we free up our partner shelters to help many other animals,” JZ says. “It’s like removing a triple workload from their plate. They loved Top Hat, and they wanted updates. We were all rooting for him.”

More Than One Happy Ending

Top Hat’s path—from a traumatic injury to a joyful home—isn’t just a feel-good arc. It’s a blueprint for how our community works when it’s at its best: partner shelters call, our medical team clears the decks, fosters open their homes, donors keep the lights on, and adopters step in to write the final chapter.

At HSSV, this is what we mean when we talk about meeting animals where they are and doing whatever it takes to help them thrive. Top Hat is a living example of that promise.

“In this post-fire world, every animal we bring in is because someone made it possible,” JZ reflects. “A foster who said yes. A donor who gave. A partner who trusted us. We don’t have extra empty rooms—we have people. And because of them, we can keep saying yes.”

Top Hat’s lasting reminder is simple: resilience grows in loving environments. It’s in the clinic where infection turns a corner. It’s in the foster living room at 2 a.m. with a syringe and a towel. It’s on a dog-sized mat where a cat and his person fall asleep mid-knead.

“We are just so grateful to have Top Hat and Nana in our family,” Mindy says. “We deeply feel your compassion in every part of his story.”

Thank you to our partners at SJACS, to JZ and Gee for their extraordinary foster care, to our medical team for their steady hands, and to every supporter who makes stories like this possible. If Top Hat’s journey speaks to you, consider fostering, adopting, or giving—so the next urgent text becomes the next happy ending.