An adorable cat’s vitiligo has left its black fur covered in white dots, making it look like a galaxy.
When Jean Noyes rescued Gatsby and his sister Daisy, the tuxedo cat showed no markings that would soon cover his fur.
However, after six months of living with the Iowa native, he began to develop the white ‘stars’ on his face, which left Jean trying to scrub them off.
Quickly, Gatsby’s fur continued to transform and the now four-year-old is covered head to socks with these markings which have left him looking like the clear night sky.
Jean said: “When he was a kitten, he didn’t have any of the markings I would call his stars.
“When he was about six months old, he got the first markings on his face. I thought he got into something and I tried to scrub it off. I quickly realized it was his fur.
“I didn’t know anything about vitiligo; I just knew he was transforming into this beautiful and unique cat before my eyes.
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“I started referring to him as my star kitty, space kitty and finally, my Galaxy Kitty.
“The reactions that folks have when they see him are always gratifying. They do a double or sometimes a triple-check.
“Inevitably, they say something about him getting splashed with milk, or bleach, or paint. Then they want a picture.”
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Vitiligo is a condition in which the pigment is lost from areas of the skin, causing whitish patches, often with no clear cause.
“My veterinarians, both the old and the new, had never seen anything like him in their 80 years of combined practice.
“I put a picture on a tuxedo cat Facebook page and vitiligo was the consensus. I looked into it and so did my veterinarian, and we agree that’s what he has.
“Vitiligo is very rare in cats, especially tuxedo cats. It is also a condition that is pretty difficult for humans who are living with it, so I love it when a person with vitiligo reaches out to me and thanks me for sharing Gatsby with them.
“It is so humbling and special that he has touched so many people all over the world. I am constantly amazed at the responses he garners. People love him.”