Something Strange
She took another look at the patch of fur and pulled it aside with her fingers to see more of the skin underneath.
She could have sworn the unusual patch of fur hadn't always been there, but perhaps it was just her imagination. She couldn't believe her eyes when her spouse had the strange idea to shine a UV light on the spot.
An Animal Lover
Germany resident, Nicole Böhm always felt a deep affinity for animals – cats, in particular. So when she found two helpless kittens in an abandoned barn that needed her help, she didn’t even think twice.
Feeling as if the universe had conspired for her to be in the right place at exactly the right time, she took the poor creatures home with her… not realizing what else she was bringing into her home.
Elli And Rosie
Nicole named the kittens Elli and Rosie. They were only a little worse for wear, considering that they had been in the barn all alone and without proper care for weeks.
They were a little malnourished and also had ear mites... nothing that Nicole hadn’t expected -- all they needed was a little TLC. Or so Nicole thought.
They’d Missed Something
When Nicole took the kittens to the vet for a checkup, the vet prescribed them a high-calorie diet, vaccinated and de-wormed them, and gave them medication for their ear mites.
Just a few weeks later, they were well on their way to recovery. Their bellies rounded out and they appeared to be thriving. Nicole had no idea that there was something that the vet had missed.
Thriving
Rosie and Elli rapidly doubled in size and became little monsters, getting into everything in Nicole’s apartment. But she always made sure that anything that could be dangerous was put away from their curious little paws and always kept the bathroom door closed.
But as prepared as Nicole was, there was something happening to Ellie that she was completely unaware of.
Happy And Healthy
Elli and Rosie transformed dramatically during those first few months. The premium-quality kibble she was feeding them had done its job, leaving their fur silky-soft and their grey-green eyes bright.
Nicole thought she was giving the kittens the best possible care, but there was something that she had failed to notice about Elli.
Different Personalities
Nicole was pleased with the kittens’ progress and fell in love with them a little more every day. And every day, their personalities were developing. Elli was the wild one -- dashing around the room, stealing socks, and shredding everything she could get her paws on.
Rosie was more reserved, often content to sleep the day away. But, little did Nicole know, Elli was undergoing a change that would leave her unrecognizable.
She Noticed Something
It happened on an ordinary day in the Böhm household. Elli and Rosie were up to their usual antics.
After a play session with a catnip-filled mouse, Elli retreated to Nicole’s lap for a nap. Nicole was running her fingers through her fur and admiring her beautiful tuxedo markings when she noticed it.
An Odd Mark
There was a small white patch on Elli’s face, encircling one of her eyes. It was hardly noticeable unless you were looking for it. “That’s odd,” Nicole whispered to herself. She could have sworn the bright white patch hadn’t been there last week, but she could be wrong.
She tried to put the worry out of her mind, but her instincts were telling her that something wasn’t right. “Hans,” she called for her husband. “Please come and look at this?”
Closer Inspection
Nicole’s husband inspected the patch of fur, and she moved the hair aside with her fingers so that he could get a closer look at the skin underneath. Maybe it was just her imagination.
“What am I looking for?” Hans asked. He saw nothing. “Hang on,” he said, “I’ll be right back.” When he came back with the UV light that he used to look for scorpions while hiking, Nicole was more than a little confused. But when he turned it on and shone it on Elli, she was dumbstruck.
Glowing
The UV light picked up all kinds of strange, swirling patterns on Elli’s skin, including the half-moon around her left eye.
The UV light picked up all kinds of strange, swirling patterns on Elli’s skin, including the half-moon around her left eye.
A Sleepless Night
All night she lay and worried about the swirling patterns on Elli’. It could be normal, she reassured herself. But there was something about it… she couldn’t let it go. It could just be her imagination, but what if it wasn’t?
She had read about a cat’s fur discoloring due to a health issue or a deficiency, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to rest until she got it checked out. There was only one thing for it.
To The Vet
She woke early and managed to round Elli up into her travel crate. Elli wasn’t pleased with this development; she knew that the cat carrier only meant one thing: a trip to the vet.
Nicole had gone through all her photos of Elli to date and she was right, the white patch of fur hadn’t been there before. The vet examined Elli but didn’t seem too concerned, at first.
Unrelated Diagnosis
The vet ran some more tests just to be sure. He took a skin scraping and examined it under a microscope and muttered to himself.
He told Nicole that Elli was riddled with ringworm -- a kind of common fungal infection, but not a major issue and not one that would normally cause fur discoloration… that’s what the UV light had detected.
A Type Of Fungus
Ringworm affects many cats – especially rescued cats – that have been exposed to the fungus. It causes inflamed rings on the skin, but some cats never develop any obvious symptoms.
Ringworm is usually detected with UV light -- its swirling patterns glow under this light source. But, even though Elli had been diagnosed with a fungal infection, this didn’t explain why her fur was changing color.
More Tests
The vet prescribed anti-fungal medication, and then he ordered a skin biopsy to determine why Elli’s fur was turning white in patches. He was beginning to suspect that there was more to Elli than met the eye.
Nicole suspected that perhaps the loss of her cat’s coloration was due to stress, but she was so very wrong. It was by pure chance that they all went on to discover that Elli had a rare condition.
Diagnosis
When the test results came back, the vet called Nicole immediately with the news. Elli had a rare condition, and this was just the beginning.
In the week that she had waited for the test results to come back, Elli was beginning to sprout white tufts of fur all over her body. Soon, she would be unrecognizable. Nicole had never heard of vitiligo, until now.
A Rare Condition
Vitiligo is an extremely rare condition that causes loss of pigmentation in the skin. It manifests itself as patches or tufts of white hair that soon spread to other areas of the body.
It can occur in both humans and animals and can come with other serious health issues, such as an autoimmune disease. So naturally, Nicole was concerned.
Changing Before Her Eyes
Thankfully, Elli appeared to be in excellent health despite having a pigmentation disorder. Her strange transformation progressed throughout the next two years until she became completely unrecognizable, but Elli is blissfully unaware that she is any different from her sister, Rosie.
Her black fur slowly turned white, and Nicole was amazed at the beautiful markings that began to appear.
A Celebrity
Snowflake-shaped white patches started to emerge as the white fur started to spread. The stark black and white tuxedo coat that Elli was born with soon became flecks of white and grey, and netizens can’t get enough of the cat’s breathtakingly beautiful metamorphosis.
“I was surprised,” Nicole said. “I’m still surprised.” Elli has become a celebration of the unique and the different.
Famous
“Her personality is the same as ever,” Nicole added. “She is as cute and lovely and as playful as the first day.” And Elli quickly became a cat celebrity, with her own Instagram and Facebook pages with thousands of followers.
She’s become a silent spokesperson and a celebration for humans struggling with vitiligo, too. She shows us that unique is beautiful.
Support
One follower wrote: “You are adorable! My mom has vitiligo, we didn’t know that cats can have it. Big hug from Sientje and her mom!”
And another: “She makes me feel so good about my vitiligo, I’m so glad someone introduced Elli to me, every day [sic] struggle with my spots.” But a few years down the line, and Elli’s transformation is still not complete.
Still Changing
“Her changing still goes on every day,” Nicole explained, “and I love her more and more.” She keeps a detailed record of her transformation in photographs and shares them with the world on Elli’s Instagram page.
And people can’t help but marvel at Elli’s beauty. Who could ever have guessed that an ordinary tuxedo cat would touch so many hearts?
Little ‘Snow Owl’
Some may say that these unique features look like snowflakes, but Nicole confirms that it makes her look like a little cute owl.
“She looks like a little snow owl,” Nicole said. “She is so cute and her fur continues to change every day.” "She's a pretty cat, no matter what color her fur is," one reader wrote. "I hope she stays healthy and lives a long life!"
Different Is Beautiful
That fateful day that Nicole opened her heart and home to two kittens in need, she never expected Elli had such a unique condition. And through Elli, she’s teaching the world that it’s okay to be different and that being unique is beautiful!
Millions of people are insecure about their differences, but Elli’s story shows us that these differences should be celebrated!
A Cat Influencer
Elli is now six years old, has hundreds of photos on her page, and has managed to amass one hundred thousand followers on Instagram.
“We didn’t think the account would grow so fast,” said Nicole, who was surprised to see how much love her cat has received on the internet. “Becoming ‘famous’ wasn’t our intention.” But social media accounts like Elli’s are so much more than that – they literally change people’s lives.
Cat Spedding
Cat Spedding, a 24-year-old woman from Harrogate, New Yorkshire, hid herself under long socks and heavy makeup for years.
When she was growing up, she was bullied relentlessly for her unique appearance – cruel kids taunted her and said she looked like a ‘burns victim.’ When she was 13, Cat’s vitiligo only presented itself as tiny white dots around her eyes and on her claves.
The Diagnosis
As Cat got older, however, the white patches on her skin grew. When she was diagnosed with vitiligo, she – like many others – had never heard of the condition before.
Despite going for LED treatment and using steroid creams, she now has large patches of white skin around her eyes and across the lower halves of her legs.
An Autoimmune Disorder
Vitiligo is a progressive and rare skin condition that causes the body’s immune system to attack the pigmentation on the skin, leaving large white patches on the face, legs, arms, and torso.
50 percent of people with the condition develop it before they reach the age of 20, but it can happen at any time.
Making Headlines
Recently, the condition made headlines when America’s Next Top Model awarded the winning title to Winnie Harlow – a vitiligo sufferer who went on to star in Beyonce’s Lemonade video.
“The doctors gave me this cover cream which is like a really thick concealer so I would wear that all the time and knee-high socks,” Cat said. But, one day that all changed.
Low Self-Esteem
“If I went out without them I would get people staring and saying horrible things to me in the street,” Cat said. “My self-confidence really suffered but it also made me really angry. I don't understand why you would do that to someone.”
“It wouldn't have bothered me if people had come over to ask me about my condition but some people are just really ignorant. It used to get me down.”
10 Years
For 10 years, Cat covered her patches – which now also appeared on her chest, hands, back, torso, and scalp.
When a vitiligo patch appears on Cat’s scalp, the hair growing from that section of skin also grows out white – meaning she had to constantly dye hair so it would all be one color. Then, something incredible happened.
A Spotlight On The Condition
Cat happened to come across Instagram accounts – including Elli’s – that showcased vitiligo. One of her biggest inspirations is the vitiligo model Winnie Harlow.
More and more fellow sufferers of this once-unheard-of condition cropped up on social media, and Cat suddenly didn’t feel so isolated and alone anymore. After seeing Instagram accounts raising awareness of her condition, she had a life-changing revelation.
Finding Support
“I had never heard of vitiligo when I was diagnosed, but over the years I've noticed more and more people with it like the model Winnie Harlow,” Cat explained.
“And there are so many people on social media who share photos and support each other. It is so important because people need that encouragement to believe in themselves.” Cat finally realized that she didn’t have to hide her skin anymore.
Not Hiding Anymore
“It has made me realize that I shouldn't have to change who I am to stop people shouting stuff at me. My vitiligo is a part of me so I'm not going to hide it,” she said triumphantly. After finding so much support, Cat even decided to bravely wear a bikini for the first time.
“When I went on holiday this year I knew people would stare at my patches while I was in a bikini, but I was determined just to ignore them.,” she told The Daily Mail. “It hasn't been easy to get to this point - it's taken me 10 years - but it's likely it will spread and the patches I have will get bigger so I need to accept it. And I'm even learning to love it.”