Years ago in the pet food aisle of PetSmart I ran into a gentleman and we got to talking. He was looking for a tuxedo boy to replace his kitty. His wife had passed away and the cat soon followed. He thinks he died from a broken heart.
We exchanged phone numbers and the next day he was here looking over my cats and adopted Tux- an older tuxedo kitty. This was over 15 years ago.
Mr. Ryan called last night and he laid Tux to rest a few weeks ago. (cancer). He wanted to know if I had a loving, older male tuxedo kitty to keep him company. I told him about Sylvester, took Sylvester over to his house and it was love at first sight!
When I left the house, Sylvester was lying on top of the couch as if he always lived there! Mr Ryan slipped me a few dollars so I was able to buy cat food and cat litter on the way home. Which is good because I was running really low.
So now, in the new enclosure, we have Willow, Toad and Sullivan three mackeral tabby kitties. Vaughn is wandering the house trying to pretend he is alpha (but Trump won’t let him be!)
I also have a new cat outside in the cat cage that is attached to the barn. Grayson came to us a few days ago and he had been grazed by a car. The cage he is in is roomy and full of straw. There is no break on the leg, it looks like he was just dragged. He got lucky the vet said.
On the doggy front- Brandi the new german shepherd’s urine results are in- she has a UTI and so she is on antibiotics. Once she is done with them, I will have to submit another urine sample for analysis to see if she is cleared up.
Everyone else is doing good, hunkering down for the upcoming storm. Thundershowers and high winds are predicted for later tonight.
I just want to say how grateful I am for those of you who read my blog and respond either privately or publicly. You seriously have kept me going on some really dark days of late- Mike still has two holes in his foot that are not healing and they want to send him back to the wound care clinic that put him in danger in the first place- over my dead body will that happen!
Mary Anne, what wonderful news about Sylvester – sounds like he found his forever home! I’m very sorry to hear about Mike. I know going back to the clinic is probably the last thing he wants to do. I hope that foot will heal on its own.
Hugs,
Chris
Yeah for Sylvester. And how cool to get a call like that out of the blue. We know Tux will be missed, but how special to share the love with another boy.
Purrs to you and Mike.
“I taught I taw a puddy tat” — Hooray for Sylvester!
And good wishes for Mike…
That is wonderful news about Sylvester, Mary Anne, but can I ask – is Vaughn looking around for him or missing him? They were so devoted to each other when my daughter had them and would get very upset if one or the other wasn’t around – but with all the other kitties around him perhaps Vaughn will be okay. It sounds like Sylvester went to a really good home though and I’m happy to know that. I’m sure he will get lots of undivided attention. (I was just worried he would cry for Vaughn which he has done before.) But you are the expert and I trust your expertise. After being with you for some time now, hopefully they will be more adoptable. Thanks again for all that you do. You are remarkable!
Vaughn doesn’t even seem to notice he is gone. He is in the cat enclosure sleeping at the moment. Sylvester has a warm lap to sit on and a gentleman to share his life with and doesn’t seem to be missing his feline friend either (because I asked). Sylvester slept on the bed last night with the gentleman and followed him all over the house on the grand tour. The man has 28 acres tucked in the middle of nowhere and two heated barns, a huge garage and two-story home and no other cats.
Good for Sylvester. It sounds like he’s in a good place. If Tux was an older cat when this man adopted him and yet he still lived 15 years – and it took cancer to end that – it sounds like a loving environment indeed. It’s too bad that with all that room, he didn’t want to take a second cat. But every adoption is a victory.
Good luck to Mike. I wouldn’t send him back to that clinic, either…
Oh, that makes me feel so much better to know that both Vaughn and Sylvester are doing just fine without each other. Of course, like I said, I trust your judgment completely Mary Anne. Plus, Sylvester sounds like he has it made with such an ideal haven to reside in . . he has really hit pay dirt! I too was thinking the same thing about this gentleman’s former cat living to be 15 years old – I figured his former cat had lived a great life with him to be 15, so I knew Sylvester would be going to a good home. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that your other cats get as lucky as Sylvester.
Way to go, Sylvester kittie. Enjoy your furrrever home. Sometimes it is impressive how a kittie will just decide ‘this is home’ and settle in.
Purrrrrss for Mike. We’re with the others: If that wound clinic needs Mike, they’re gonna have to carry him in there kicking & screaming.
I had a dream last week Slye (Sylvester) was adopted and my Ninja, now Vaughn was left without his brother. This makes me sad. Those were my babies :,( …I was promised they’d stay together.
Maybe I give animals too much credit, but they were obsessed with each other. Why would they not be sad? I miss them so much.
Julie,
Although some cats do connect to each other for life, it doesn’t mean that they can’t go on and live happily someplace else without a feline friend. Vaugn aka Ninja has made a new friend with one of my older cats and they are often seen grooming each other and laying together. When they were put into the enclosure after you left- the two cats weren’t getting along for a couple of days. Ninja would hiss every time Sly would come near and vice versa which is part of stress but also part of change. They got along a bit better when they were put into general population, but I rarely saw them together unless they were eating.
I’m not sure how they know, but they do when a feline friend leaves here for an adoption and doesn’t come back- there is no change in the general population. No one is caterwauling looking for the now missing cat, no one is pacing or hiding- Life just goes on as normal. BUT when one passes away outside of this home, ALL my cats know it. There is a general mood of mourning and whether they pick it up from my feelings or what- they KNOW- it is uncanny. Vaughn showed no signs of missing his buddy- and that can also be attributed to other cats here who he likes- they fill the gap.
Ninja doesn’t seem to miss Sly and this is why I also change the names of cats surrendered over to me by an owner. I need the cat to adapt to a new way of life because I CAN’T keep every one who comes here. I don’t recall promising to keep them together. I did say I think as it was a bit of a time with Ninja there- that if I couldn’t get them adopted, they would live with us here to the end of their days.
I know you miss them, you had them a long time and you had a bond with them. But the cat you described to me on the phone that day- to the point I was scratching my head and thinking “am I getting a psycho kitty?” Is not the cat that is here now. Ninja aka Vaughn has been to the vet several times in the carrier. He didn’t go ballistic, he didn’t try to claw his way out, he cried a bit, he didn’t poop or pee in the carrier, he was pretty cool about all of it. I was thinking you gave me the wrong cat because that carrier was so cracked up- I had to throw it away. I could see where some cat tried to break out in the many areas that were weakened- but I couldn’t equate this with the black cat who now walked between my feet when I was preparing meals.
Your mom told me about some of your life changes and they sound tough. You did the right thing for these two guys and my hope is to find a home for Vaughn as well so he can get all the love he deserves. But sometimes Life thows us curveballs- I’ve had plenty heaved in my direction lately and you have to reset priorities and just go on.
Don’t be sad, be happy that Sly aka Sylvester now has a loving lap to sit on, a warm roof over his head, stellar vet care and a gentleman who misses both wife and cat in a serious manner. Can you imagine all the love that Sylvester is getting right now? He’s on sensory overload! Maybe some of my readers who also rescue will tell you how difficult it is to adopt out an older cat especially one that is mostly black!
Anyway, I know you love them and perhaps one day when Life is right again you can rescue an older cat from a private rescuer and take a bit of a load off her hands and transfer all that love and care to another cat that would possibly never have been adopted?
You can also always volunteer at shelters and with local rescue groups. They always need a hand and if you can’t do the physical work then maybe you can provide other types of support? Fund-raising ideas, computer work if you do that type of thing.
I hope your sadness lifts soon- I really do. Take it from an expert (and I don’t mean a cat expert as I am still learning) looking back can drain you- looking ahead can inspire you!
Take care and I will do right by Vaughn-
MA