Veterinarian can't believe his eyes when he meets a kitten filled with air

Earlier this month, a stray kitten named Zoe arrived at Palm Springs Animal Shelter, and the staff could immediately tell there was something strange about her.

“When she came in, she just looked bizarre,” Jack Hagerman, the shelter’s associate executive director, told The Dodo. “She didn’t look like a kitten should look.”

The little cat’s entire body was puffed up — and not because her fur was fluffy. There was somehow a large amount of air trapped under her skin, which was making her expand like a blimp.

“Even more startling was how she felt,” Hagerman said. “When you would hold her, it was like holding a balloon.”

Dr. Caldwell had never seen a case of subcutaneous emphysema in a kitten so little before. He started working on slowly extracting the air from her body bit by bit. Thankfully, the air didn’t return, so he was able to rule out the possibility that it was a congenital issue.

As uncomfortable as the puffiness must have been for Zoe, all of the shelter staff members were blown away by how she insisted on acting like a normal kitten throughout her entire treatment. The playful cat was eating well, rubbing up against her caretakers and curious about the world around her.

“From the moment she came in, she just had a fighting spirit,” Hagerman said. “She had no interest in declining.”

Zoe’s adorable appearance earned her the nickname “Puffkitty.” She’s captured the hearts of not only the shelter staff but also their followers from all over the world, who’ve even gone so far as making fan art of her.

Thankfully, Zoe is already doing much better. Most of her puffiness is gone at this point, and her prognosis is very good. As she continues to heal, she will be transferred to a foster home and be made available for adoption.