​Kelsey Knappenberger is a junior information systems major at Elizabethtown College. When she moved on campus, she brought along with her a black cat named Kyra.

Kyra had been brought onto campus to act as an assistant animal to Knappenberger. The two have a strong connection due to Knappenberger nursing Kyra after having found her sick.

​Kyra is a little over a year old. Knappenberger had found Kyra on Christmas Day of 2020. She said that she had found Kyra on the floor of her grandmother’s barn, but Kyra had been very sick and needed help.

Due to Knappenberger’s care and ability to nurse Kyra back to health, she was able to not only help her, but also form a very quick connection.

​“She was very sick and needed help, so I picked her up and she instantly clung to my chest. Right away I knew we had a connection,” Knappenberger said.

Knappenberger said that after she had taken Kyra in, she was able to nurse her back to health. Thanks to this, Kyra was able to make an almost full recovery. Unfortunately, Kyra’s eye had been infected so it had to be surgically removed. Despite this, Kyra still is as loving a cat as any you would see. Knappenberger believes her missing eye gives her a lot of personality that you won’t find in most cats.

​“She is missing an eye, which gives her so much personality,” Knappenberger said.

​Kyra also has a habit of craving attention much more at night than during the day. She will meow a lot to get the attention she wants before running around the room and then going under the covers.

“Kyra likes also gets the zoomies and likes to run around when I’m sleeping. Usually, she then jumps on my bed, sniffs my mouth to ensure I’m alive and then go[es] under the covers for warmth and cuddles,” Knappenberger said.

​Ever since Knappenberger  nursed Kyra back to health, she has had Kyra living on campus with her as an assistance animal. Kyra is very shy; she frequently is hiding underneath Knappenberger’s bed or in a corner of the room whenever Knappenberger has someone over. She also tends to back away or run off if someone she is unfamiliar with approaches her. Kyra usually stays hidden on top of her crate during the day due to being shy when others are in the room.

​Kyra can also get annoyed when Knappenberger has guests over and when she has to come out to be pet by others. However, she does get over this pretty quickly.

​One of the things that Kyra will commonly do when lounging around is simply stick her tongue out. This had become something that Knappenberger has grown to love and find enjoyment in.

​“One of my favorite things about Kyra is that she has a habit of sticking her tongue out at the most random moments,” Knappenberger said.

Knappenberger’s quick thinking in the past not only allowed her to help out a lovable animal, but it also allowed her to make an incredible friend.