Ernie - He showed up under a car with an infected leg and no home. He left with 8,000 people who loved him.

Ernie (†) didn't wait to be rescued: he chose his family himself.

He appeared under a parked car in Vallejo, California. Tiny, feral, thin, full of fleas. Irene Wong and her father Joe Zwetsloot thought he belonged to a neighbor. He didn't. They brought him back up the street. The next day, he was at their door again.

And that was it.

"It is the most strong bond between an animal and a human that I've ever seen," Irene said. What followed was 12 years of road trips, freeze dried shrimp, a very eventful stay in Instagram jail, and a love story between a three legged cat and the family that let him in.

The leg, the surgery, the full speed ahead

When Irene and Joe took Ernie to the vet, they found out his front paw had been badly infected for a long time, so amputation was the only real option. He was tiny, stray. Already starting life with the odds stacked against him.

He didn't care.

After surgery, Ernie figured out his new balance and moved on at full speed. Joe watched him run across a football field just to reach him: "He runs a little sideways. Drops his leg down and runs sideways." At home, the yard was rebuilt around him. Artificial grass covered every patch of concrete so he'd never land wrong. Small stairs led up to his bed and cat tree. And he loved it when Joe held his stump so he could run even faster.

High places were his favorite challenge. He'd stand at the base, study the jump, calculate. You could actually see him thinking it through. Then, more often than not, he'd make it.

This is worth saying clearly: a disabled cat is not a broken cat. Ernie is proof. Tripawds run, jump, play, travel and love just as hard as any four legged cat. The only thing that changes is the math of the jump.

What a street cat teaches you about love

Ernie's theory of life was simple: be near his people, always.

He was feisty at mealtimes, but the second the bowl was empty he wanted to be hugged. He waited by the garage door every evening, because he knew that's where his parents came in. He meowed loudly outside any door he suspected Joe was behind. He traveled to Santa Cruz and Napa. He climbed into every bed the family ever bought him without ceremony, as if it had always been his.

His favorite snack was freeze dried shrimp. His favorite place was wherever Irene or Joe happened to be.

Irene has a theory about why he was so attached to people. "Our guess is maybe his mom abandoned him because of his disability, so maybe he never learned to be a cat." What he learned instead was to be almost entirely human. He looked at you with big eyes and made you feel like the most important person in the room. He was 12 years old and people still didn't believe it, because he had too much energy to act his age.

Ernie teach us that cats from the street, or with disabilities, cats who started life unwanted: they don't love you less. If anything, they love you even more.

The Three Stooges and the meowmy behind the camera

Ernie's world was full. He had siblings: Snowball and Meatball. The three of them piled into one giant shared bed every night. His meowmy held him for hours and covered him in kisses daily, even if she was usually the one behind the camera.

His Instagram followers at @erniezjourney grew to more than 8,000 people, drawn to a tripawd cat from Vallejo who had something genuinely magnetic about him.

He also spent 36 days in Instagram jail. Irene had added his birthday to his profile, thinking it would be a fun detail: Instagram's system flagged a 9 year old with an account. Irene tried explaining that her cat was not, in fact, a minor attempting unsupervised access to social media. Nothing worked. She launched a #FreeErnie campaign, contacted 7 On Your Side, who reached out to Instagram and Facebook directly. Thirty six days later, Instagram admitted the error and reinstated the account.

Ernie, for his part, loved the attention.

What he left behind

Ernie lived 12 good years. He was a street cat with a missing leg who ended up with a family that rebuilt their yard for him, traveled with him, and held him every single day. His family says he changed the trajectory of their lives. He taught them that pets are family. He showed thousands of people online that a tripawd life is a full life.

He didn't inspire anyone by being exceptional. He inspired people by being completely, unapologetically himself: needy, loving, fast, funny, and absolutely certain he deserved to be held.

If you've ever walked past a cat at a shelter because it was missing a leg, had a disease diagnosis, or seemed like too much to take on, Ernie's story is for you. Those cats are not less than others. They are, if anything, more: more present, more bonded, more grateful for the humans who chose them.

In his own family words, if Ernie could send a message for every cat still out there living their nine lives, he’d say: make the most of them by leaving a legacy of love. For the humans: spread love everywhere you can.

Ernie did. Every single day.

Ernie may be gone, but his family still posts at @erniezjourney to keep his memory and his message alive. Give them a follow, and if his story moved you, share it. Someone out there might be one story away from adopting the cat they didn't think they were ready for. 😊🐱