Who is Sushi? 'GRUMPY CAT' born with sad face goes viral
Sushi, a five-year-old kitty who suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and has elastic skin, was discovered wandering the streets as a kitten. Larissa Yamaguchi, a system analyst, later gave him a home. She just discovered he had EDS last year after reading about a cat with a similar appearance.
The other "Grumpy Cat" case was also an Internet sensation — hailing from Arizona, US, the cat looked sad due to an underbite and dwarfism. But Sushi's sorrowful visage is a result of EDS, a unique medical condition that makes him look sad even though he is in a good mood. "Some people get shocked or scared, some love his face at first sight and others laugh," according to Larissa, from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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Larissa continued, "It took four years for us to know Sushi had EDS. I spent £800 and he used a lot of different medications but nothing helped. After finding a similar cat online, we found a cat dermatologist and it was quite a shock even for her." Larissa claimed it had been more than ten years since she had seen a cat like Sushi!
“I was scared but then we found out that we could handle it and it wasn’t fatal,” she said, explaining that Sushi's ailment causes him to have excessively dry and itchy skin, necessitating daily moisturising, a specialised food, clothing, and soft collars. Larissa explained: "EDS affects each animal in a unique way. Sushi’s face skin is very flexible, especially his cheeks, and his arms too. It can affect organs and articulations but in Sushi’s case, it affects only his external skin."
She continued, "The main issue is the compulsive scratching because syndrome makes his skin dry and itchy, so he often tries to scratch the fragile parts." Sushi is OK otherwise, living happily with his three feline siblings, but his appearance leads others to believe he isn't having as much fun. As a result, Larissa now shares Sushi's tale on Instagram in order to increase awareness about EDS and how it can affect animals' appearance.
"People say he looks sad all the time," she explained. "Some people get shocked or scared, some love his face at first sight and others laugh at him. My friends always said that he had a different face and everyone should see it. Now it is our main source to spread knowledge and awareness about EDS!"