We recently shared some of our favorite adoptions of the year with you. Today, we’re remembering even more wonderful cats who found families, thanks to your support!
Whether they needed time to adjust, space to be themselves, or medication to feel their best, you were there helping them and cheering them on. They found homes, and love, because of you. Thank you for being a hero for us, and for these cats!
BILL’S Pick: SABA
Saba in her Studio.
My favorite adoption of this year was Saba. Saba came to us a down-on-her-luck, single mother of four kittens. As if that wasn't a tough enough hand of cards, she was also shy, FIV positive, and battling asthma. After getting her kittens medically cleared and adopted into loving homes, the real work with Saba began.
Volunteers worked with her to help her feel safe around people again, and staff worked with her to get her used to the inhaler she will need for the rest of her life.
She then went to foster for about 5 months to continue her socialization before returning to the Adoption Center, so her care was truly a group effort. When I heard she was coming back, I couldn't wait to see that face of hers again.
Saba with her adopter.
She was only back with us at the Adoption Center for under 2 months before she got adopted. I was working when a walk-in potential adopter wanted to talk about a cat she had met on a regular visit the day before. When I learned the cat she couldn't get out of her mind was Saba, I completely understood.
This person had spent all night researching Saba’s medical conditions and how to care for a cat like that. She was fine with Saba’s more shy, laid back personality, and didn't just accept her for it but LOVED her for it. It was a match made in heaven.
One of my favorite things about Cat Town is that we are lucky enough to have the resources to help hard-to-place, shy cats like Saba, no matter how long it takes!
ANDREW’S PicK: THE BARON & PRINCE LUNE
We’re not really supposed to have favorites, but these two will always be special to me. It started with an email from the rescue coordinator at a municipal shelter in the Sacramento area. These two brothers were as sweet as possible, but needed rescue placement for medical care. While most of Cat Town’s cats come from Oakland, we do our best to help other area shelters whenever we can, and these boys really needed our help!
They were both born with microphthalmia, a congenital condition where the eye doesn’t develop properly. The shelter had already done the surgery to remove the bad eye from each cat, but they kept having respiratory infections despite repeated treatment with antibiotics. Worse, they had just tested positive for calicivirus, a serious and highly contagious infection that can spread dangerously fast in a shelter environment, putting all the other cats at risk.
The Baron and Prince Lune in Andrew’s bathroom.
Our program was pretty full, but I couldn’t let these cats be euthanized because of a respiratory virus. So, I did what a lot of rescuers do: I put them in my bathroom. My whole family fell in love with them, including my niece who gave them their names. Their respiratory problems didn’t improve, and tests at our vet revealed that their problem was a fungal infection called cryptococcus — treatable infection, but it would take several months of medical care.
Prince Lune and the Baron in our Studios. Photo by Erica Danger.
Eventually we moved them to our Adoption Center after they were no longer contagious, so they would have more room to run. They got better, but the sneezing never quite went away. More tests showed that they had suffered permanent tissue damage in their sinuses — they would probably have some symptoms for life, and would likely need sinus flushing treatments from time to time.
Prince Lune also developed another complicating condition: Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC), a painful inflammation of his urinary tract. So, they needed to move to one of our private Studios, a lower-stress spot where we could provide Prince Lune with the special diet he now required.
Prince Lune and the Baron with their adopter.
They were then adopted, for a while. But as sometimes happens, things didn’t work out — so they came back to Cat Town. It took another 5 months to find an adopter for a bonded pair of one-eyed, chronically-sneezy cats who needed special care and a prescription diet. But that’s what Cat Town is all about! After 298 days, we found the perfect home for them.
CAROL’S PicK: MANILA
Manila arrived at the shelter after her guardian had passed away. Having been the only pet in her former home, she was not used to the sounds of other cats, dogs, and the activity of the shelter, and she was confused and upset to be in a cage. She became aggressive — growling, hissing, and swatting at everyone.
Cat Town took her in, and I said I would foster her for a short time. In our home, I found that she loved to play with feathers and wands, but always hissed and swatted when we tried to touch her. Understandable after her ordeal. I really believed she wanted to interact, so one night, I decided to sleep in the guest room with her.
Manila in her foster home.
The first night, she stood up at the side of the bed and growled, so I pulled the covers over my head to protect myself. Manila growled like this over the next few nights, but one night, came on the bed, and quietly stood on me. Progress.
After weeks at this stage, she finally sat down on me. I was eventually able to scratch her head and cheeks for a short time. Only as long as she wanted. She came to love this, and would drool while I scratched her. I was not scared anymore, and she finally trusted me, too. I learned to interact with her on her terms, and we enjoyed our sessions together.
I was unsure how she would react to meeting new people, as she had not seen other people in our house, but when a potential adopter came to meet her, she didn’t hide or swat — Manila was interactive in the meeting!
Manila heading home with her adopter.
It was a perfect match. She would again be the only cat in the home, and with a very experienced adopter who understood and loved Manila for who she was. They are living happily together.
We came to love Manila for who she was and learned a great lesson about letting cats be who they are, not who we want them to be. We think of her often, she is a big personality, and totally herself.
Stay tuned for more of our favorite adoption stories later this month!