Let it be known that pets and weddings are a wonderful combination.
Whether it’s getting your dog to photobomb your engagement pictures, taking your rescue pups down the aisle, or hosting a kitten hour for your guests, if you add something cute and furry to your wedding day it’s bound to be a hit.
That’s especially true when one member of the wedding party has no clue of your pet-related plans.
When Karli Moreno was posing for the first look photos on her wedding day, she never expected her husband, Edgar, to bring out a special guest: their two-legged cat, Odin.
Thankfully the moment was captured on camera by photographer Kylie Bricker, so we can all enjoy the true awe and love on Karli’s face when sweet Odin was thrust into her arms.
Karli, who owns three cats (they have their own joint Instagram account), told Metro.co.uk: ‘I had joked with Eddie that the wedding wouldn’t feel complete without Odin there.
‘We’d been through so much together I was sad I wasn’t going to get to share the moment and get some photos with my special guy – don’t get me wrong I would have loved the other two [cats] there as well, but they would have for sure freaked out and ran away. Odin is the most laid back cat you’ll ever meet and you can take him anywhere and he does great.’
Edgar pulled off the surprise by waking up early at the hotel where the couple were staying before the big day, rushing back home to pick up Odin, and hanging out with the kitty while he got ready.
Edgar then brought Odin on the shuttle to the venue in his own carry case.
Just as the couple had their special moment together, it was time for Edgar to reveal the secret.
‘He said “hey, I have a surprise for you”,’ Karli remembers. ‘This is where I broke down.
‘All the emotions of everything I’d gone through and how hard I’d fought to keep this guy alive came rushing back.
‘He’s so much more than a cat to me, as he truly can read my mood and react accordingly to it. Eddie knew the day wouldn’t be complete without him there, so he made it happen. It was a magical moment.’
That journey Karli mentioned about fighting hard to keep Odin alive is a long story that began two years ago, when the rescue centre where Edgar and Karli had adopted their two cats, Bear and El, posted a photo of a cat who could not use his two back legs.
Odin used to live in a feral colony. He was shot with a BB gun and the bullet got lodged in his spine, which caused him to have myelitis – a severe inflammation of the spine that can cause paralysis.
‘Once I saw this photo of Odin, I knew I had to meet him,’ Karli tells us. ‘We got to the shelter and saw this big cat who couldn’t use his back legs, he had the brightest blue eyes I’d ever seen on a cat. They think he is some sort of ragdoll or siamese mix.
‘He was scooting around the back room of the shelter, playing and chasing other cats like a normal cat would. I knew immediately he was mine, but my husband took more convincing.
‘I got home and got to work on “Odie-proofing” our house. I bought baby gates so he couldn’t go up or downstairs (yes, he can climb steps) – I bought a makeshift litter box out of a planting tray so it was easy for him to get into. And I also bought special paper litter for him, since when he sat on his butt in normal litter it created a bit of a mess.’
Odin was brought home and started to settle in. But his myelitis continued to flare up, making it harder to stay mobile and continue with his physical therapy. At one point it flared so badly that circulation to Odin’s legs was affected, causing him to self-mutilate his back paws.
After appointments with a neurologist, the couple put Odin on steroids and a medicine that needed administering every few hours.
While vets said Odin would build up a tolerance, he never did. The medication made him a ‘zombie’, causing him to sleep all day and have no quality of life. Eventually the medicine just stopped working, and one night at 3am Karli woke up to give him his medicine and saw he had chewed off his toe.
The couple were presented with two options: Amputate Odin’s back legs or euthanise him.
Euthanisation simply wasn’t an option.
‘I’m so devoted to this cat,’ says Karli. ‘He could always sense my moods and any time my husband and I argue he meows so loud for us to stop, like he can sense the mood change and will scoot up and immediately beg to be picked up to calm me down. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.’
With financial support from the Cat Welfare Association of Columbus, the couple went ahead with the amputation of Odin’s back legs, allowing him to come off his medication and get back to his normal self.
He’s now able to scoot around with impressive speed, snuggle up with his parents, and play to his heart’s content.
Karli said: ‘Not even a week after his surgery, after he was weaned off all medication, I literally saw this dude come back to life right before my eyes. He was running (scooting) and playing with the other two cats again.
‘The surgery was over a year ago and he has been living his best life since and honestly gets around faster and better than he did with his legs weighing him down. He climbs up the stairs, up onto the bed and does just about anything a normal cat can do. And no, he doesn’t have a wheelchair because he hates it and throws a fit if we try to put him in one.’
Karli and Edgar had been together for three and a half years and Edgar proposed in 2018 in a gazebo behind their house. A year later, Odin just had to be involved in the big day. It was perfect.
MORE: Couple ditch traditional wedding caterers and instead opt for £350 worth of Domino’s pizzas
source https://metro.co.uk/2019/11/02/groom-surprises-bride-two-legged-cat-wedding-day-reaction-priceless-11031240/
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