In 1997, Scrappy the cat was a beautiful little black kitten born into this world. Since then he has lived a happy, normal life with his family until a few years ago when something extraordinary started happening. Scrappy, the once entirely black cat, started turning white. In what is believed to be the pigment discoloration disease known as Vitiligo, Scrappy began to develop white spots all over his entire fluffy coat.
While this disease is said to be somewhat rare in humans, it is extremely rare for the feline kind. For those rare cases that Vitiligo has been reported, it is typically found in black cats. When Scrappy was around 7 years of age, the first of what looks like a dazzling array of white camouflage-like markings appeared on his fur. Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease that causes the loss of skin color in blotch patterns along the skin, and although it does not bring an onset of pain it can cause stress or discomfort for those who experience it in their daily lives.
Naturally people with vitiligo may feel more self-concious than normal, or uncomfortable at what others might be thinking of them at the sight of their uneven skin tone. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the whole world could look at those that live with Vitiligo the way we do at Scrappy? He is beautiful, and his spots just make him that much more likable. Perhaps this cat can inspire us to be more compassionate towards others we see that have differences on the outside.
For more photos of this inspiring cat, check out the one and only official page of Scrappy on Facebook.
Check out this super cute video of Scrappy in action:
Posted by Scrappy on Tuesday, May 5, 2015