The Secret Formula to Curing Loneliness: Plankton’s Story

On August 14, 2025, a Good Samaritan brought a stray kitten into our care, reporting he had just been hit by a car. The kitten, later named Plankton, was bleeding from wounds on the right side of his face and the top of his head. His right eye was also injured and was bulging out its socket.

Our expert veterinary staff jumped into action to help poor Plankton.

“He was stabilized and given ongoing pain management at the ASPCA Animal Hospital,” said Dr. Felicia Magnaterra, senior director of Veterinary Services at the ASPCA Adoption Center. “On August 16, he received wound care and was neutered. We chose to delay the enucleation (or removal of his eye) until his right eyelid wound had fully healed, because doing it earlier would have made surgical closure difficult and could increase the possibility of complications in healing.”

Thankfully, Plankton was soon stable enough to be discharged from the hospital and transferred over to the Adoption Center with antibiotics and pain management while his wounds healed.

After nine days, Plankton’s wounds had healed enough for him to undergo his enucleation procedure.

“By that time, the injuries had turned into scars on the top of his head, the right side of his face, and behind his right ear,” recalled Dr. Magnaterra. “After surgery, he was sent back to the Adoption Center with antibiotics and pain medication.”

While recovering from surgery, Plankton began showing signs of an upper respiratory tract infection (URI) and had a low appetite, but Dr. Magnaterra and her team were able to start treatment quickly, providing him with supportive care.

This was a lot for the young, 3-month-old kitten, but Plankton recovered well from his eye surgery and as he slowly got better from the URI, Plankton was finally on a path toward home.

Hooked on a Feeling

When 20-year-old Nellie L. moved out of her mother’s house to live with her sister, she left behind her family cat, Garfield.

“He’s 15 and I’ve lived with him since I was 5 years old,” explained Nellie. “My sister didn’t have any pets since she worked all the time. I felt very lonely and missed having a feline friend wandering around. This prompted me to look for a new cat to fill the emptiness in the home.”

The first place Nellie thought to look was the ASPCA website. While scrolling through all the available cats, one in particular caught her eye.

“I noticed a kitten named Plankton with one eye and thought his name was so clever and funny, especially since I love the SpongeBob SquarePants show,” recalled Nellie. “Plus, he was super adorable! I then planned to go to the shelter to meet him.”

When Nellie arrived at the Adoption Center, she was able to meet a few adoptable cats to see who she felt a connection with.

“Plankton stood out because he was separated from all the other cats due to his URI. I had to wear gloves and a cloth gown to interact with him,” said Nellie. “At first, I couldn’t see him in his enclosure because he was hiding but after a while he came out to see who had come to visit him. I was with my mom and an Admissions & Placement Specialist, but he was just looking at me, so I felt very special. I felt bad that he was all alone compared to the other cats. This along with his friendly nature — and awesome name — is what made me choose him.”

Nellie was able to take Plankton home that very same day.

Home Sweet (Pineapple) Home

Growing up with Garfield gave Nellie the understanding and patience required when adopting a shy kitty, so she felt prepared when it came to Plankton settling in.

For the first three months, Nellie kept Plankton in her room to give him time to adjust. He had a box, blanket and lots of toys to make him feel comfortable and give him a place to hide. Plankton, like many cats, was very timid at first, but Nellie greatly enjoyed watching him slowly come out of his shell.

“He would begin to slowly approach me while I would watch TV, or exercise or get ready for work,” recalled Nellie. “I would get too excited and turn to talk to him, but he would get scared and run into a box we gave him. He would still watch me from afar though. Then he would come back and let me pet him.”

After two weeks Plankton felt adjusted enough to let his playful, talkative and affectionate personality shine.

“It was so rewarding to see him get comfortable in his new home and getting to see his personality,” said Nellie.

Now comfortable at home, Nellie and Plankton were able to bond, soon finding that their favorite thing to do together was to cuddle.

“He is the cuddliest cat ever! When I lay down, he’ll come up to me and bury himself in my neck or make biscuits on me, then take a nap on me,” said Nellie. “Sometimes he’ll even rub up on my leg at random times while purring. I’ll pick him up and he’ll bury himself in my neck again. It’s the cutest thing ever and he’ll be able to stay like that for hours. This affection makes me feel so happy because I know he loves me and trusts me.”

In addition to his love of cuddling, Nellie has found that Plankton is obsessed with food! She’s even caught him carrying bags of bread out of the kitchen on multiple occasions.

“He’s too cute and funny to be mad at!” Nellie laughed.

F Is for Friends

Nellie’s goal in adopting a feline friend was to quell her loneliness, and Plankton has done that for her tenfold.

“He’s brought so much joy and love to my sister’s apartment. I always have something to smile about and laugh at because there is never a dull moment with Plankton,” Nellie told us. “Even when he’s doing absolutely nothing, I will gawk at his cuteness with an annoying high-pitched voice. Plankton has even done something I thought would be impossible —turn my sister into a huge cat lover! My sister never liked animals because she just thought of them as unnecessary burdens. But now she spends every day with Plankton by her side. To be completely honest I think Plankton is way more attached to her now than to me. I’m not complaining because I think it’s the cutest thing ever!”

When Nellie adopted Plankton, she knew he had experienced a trauma, but she never went through the medical records she was given at adoption. One day, her sister asked her what had exactly happened to Plankton’s eye, prompting Nellie to finally look through all his medical records.

“As I read through everything, I felt devastated, but what stood out to me the most was the comments about how he was affectionate and purring despite all of it,” she said. “After I got done reading the records, I went to find Plankton just to hold him for a couple minutes because it filled my heart up with so much sadness knowing that my ball of sunshine suffered so much. My sister did the exact same thing. We are so proud that he’s now a healthy and happy cat. I’m really happy we gave him an environment where he can thrive and never have to live in pain ever again.”

It’s not just Nellie that’s proud, Dr. Magnaterra shares the same sentiment.  

“Stories like Plankton's inspire us every day to keep working for animal welfare,” she said. “He's shown real resilience, and his journey proves how much kindness matters.  We’re truly grateful to the caring person who brought him in and to his new family, whose home is now filled with joy because of him.  We always love hearing stories like this.”

This Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, we’re aiming to help over 300 cats and kittens find the loving homes they deserve! You can help us make a lifesaving difference for more cats like Plankton by getting involved this summer through adoption, fostering or by just spreading the word on your social media channels. Find out more about how you can join us to help cats in need at aspca.org/meow!