Throughout the year at Catster, we kick off each week by honoring a Monday Miracle kitty. The plaudit is bestowed on those cats who have overcome some sort of adversity, whether because of their special-needs status, some heinous human cruelty, or just one of those quirky mishaps that felines sometimes stumble across — or into — from time to time.

Here’s a salute to the 10 most notable Monday Miracles of 2015. We’ve updated the cats’ situations where applicable.

10. Edgar Allan Purr

The grandiosely named Edgar Allan Purr’s story begins with a string of bad luck. He’s a tiny ginger kitty who was abandoned and found himself living among a feral colony of all-black cats who refused to share their food with him. Once he was scooped up by the PAWS rescue organization, his road to recovery was hindered when he, er, fell off his cat tower and broke his hip. It’s enough to make you suspect that colony of black cats put a curse on poor little Edgar.

Still, Edgar’s happy ending wasn’t far away: Shortly after being profiled as a Catster Monday Miracle, I received word from PAWS that he’d been adopted. Hurrah!

9. Booger

There was a point this year where it seemed like cats were being attacked by humans wielding bows and arrows literally every other week. Booger emerged as a figurehead for the cause when a striking image of him with an arrow through his body hit the Internet in October.

After going through intensive surgery, Booger recovered from his horrific injuries and returned home a couple of weeks later. A local company donated an indoor and outdoor containment contraption to ensure Boogs doesn’t escape again. Rumors persist that a Kickstarter to fund his own archery lessons was also an option.

8. Nutmeg

Nutmeg is my go-to cat to pull up on my phone when I’m pestering people at the bar to adopt a cat. Her case involves something called high-rise syndrome, which basically means this sweet-faced gray kitty was either pushed or fell from the window of a tall apartment building in New York City. (And there I was fearing only rickety AC units would tumble onto my head.)

She was recovering at the Empty Cages Collective in Brooklyn when Catster told her story and was said to be fully on the mend.

7. Oliver

Remember what I said about cats being shot with arrows this year? Well, Oliver had the misfortune of suffering from a higher-powered attack when some vile soul thought it might be fun to use him as target practice and shoot him 25 times.

Yep, 25.

As a vet said at the time, “He should not be alive — he should be a dead cat.”

But remarkably, Oliver survived. Is it wrong to suggest that his attackers don’t?

Anyway, according to the First Coast No More Homeless Pets organization, “Oliver is doing incredibly well. He is such a chill, cuddly cat in spite of what happened to him!”

6. Scrappy

Scrappy is less a classic Monday Miracle as a fantastic Monday Mutant. He was born as an all-black cat and went along with the first seven years of his life doing his usual all-black cat business. Then one day his owner noticed white patches appearing on his fur.

Scrappy’s color-shifting has continued to this day (and stumped veterinary science along the way), but he seems to be in fine physical health otherwise. You can follow this senior’s fade from black over at his popular Instagram account.

5. Eddie the Lilac Lion

Eddie is a Lilac Point Siamese whose list of ailments, injuries, and setbacks at one point seemed unending: He’s deaf, toothless, half-blind, somewhat cross-eyed, and has been abandoned three times during his tumultuous life. Still, this eight-year-old’s perseverance paid off when he found his way to a forever home in upstate New York — which he shares with two felines, Daisy and Floyd, and a turtle named Norman.

Oh, and a version of Flat Eddie got to meet Lil BUB recently. Enjoy Eddie’s Instagram for more details.

4. Roux

Lil’ Bunny Sue Roux Hendrickson Deak Akey was born with only her back legs, so she hops around like a kangaroo. She was originally dumped at a shelter in New Orleans — rumors suggest her owners couldn’t deal with the fact she couldn’t fathom how to bury her poop in the litter box. (WTF, as I believe the kids on the smartphones say.)

Thankfully, those days are long behind her and she’s found her forever home and become an Instagram sensation along the way. Roux has also inspired a song about her lack of a full quota of legs. Donning my music critic’s hat, I’d like to hope alcohol was involved in the writing process.

3. Bobbi

And now for the stomach-churning case of Bobbi. This tiny female kitty was attacked by a bobcat and left mauled outside in the minus-17 degree weather in Minnesota at the start of 2015. Her wounds were graphic to say the least.

Miraculously, it seems Bobbi’s long journey of recovery is finally coming to a successful end — at least if the (grisly) before and (heart-warming) after pics on her Facebook account are anything to go by. Pop by her page and wish her a wildcat-free festive season.

2. Baloo

Baloo is a portly feral cat who found himself entangled with a cord around his neck that cut through his muscle layers and formed a six-by-three-inch wound. Despite this, he survived in the wild for a year. He was eventually captured humanely with the help of Tabby’s Place and given medical care — although his staunchly feral nature meant plans were made to keep him an outdoor cat.

Well, a lot can change, and gradually Baloo has turned into a softie. Back in August, we ran an update on how, “He now demands belly rubs and kisses and cannot get enough human attention.”

Now it turns out Baloo has also become best friends with a deaf and blind Boston Terrier dog named Abigail.

“They cuddle and snooze together,” says Angela Townsend from Tabby’s Place.

Baloo himself still needs regular bandage changes — although “his wounds have healed enough so he’s finally free from his e-collar” — but as soon as he’s over them, he’ll be on his way to his confirmed forever home. Epic adventure over.

1. Super Hero

Super Hero is changing the conception of hydro cats. He was born with what we colloquially call water on the brain, and he was not given much chance at a long life — but this champion kitty has exceeded expectations and won hearts along the way.

“Super Hero’s had a year full of extreme highs and milestones, but also some lows,” says his mom, Lisa Jones, “but he is not letting any of those slow him down.”

On the up side, Super Hero celebrated his second birthday in June. As Lisa says, it was “a huge milestone for a cat that wasn’t even supposed to live.” Super Hero also got to experience the beach for the first time on a trip to Wildwood Crest (complete with being recognized by some of his Facebook fans), and took part in his inaugural meet-and-greet in Ohio in a bid to educate people about Hydrocephalus in animals. He has also become the figurehead of the nonprofit SHAHS organization, which seeks to educate about the condition; his mom has been asked to lecture at Iowa State.

As for the downside? Well, there have been some ongoing medical issues and emergencies — par for the course with any special-needs kitty — but let’s not dwell on those for now, eh?

Instead, let’s end with some heartening words from Lisa about Super Hero: “Despite the severity of his disorder, he is still a normal cat that plays, runs, snuggles, and behaves just as any other cat would.”

A fitting way to end 2015 Monday Miracles and look forward to the tales we’ll find in 2016.

About the author: Phillip Mlynar writes about cats, music, food, and sometimes a mix of all three. He considers himself the world’s foremost expert on rappers’ cats.