A Day We Thought Might Never Come

As always, I'm going to berate myself for not actually posting more.  I keep telling myself I should, but then reality strikes, and I barely have time to sit and contemplate half of what's happening to actually translate it into a blog post before the next thing comes along.   I'm just going to have to face the fact that I can blog when I can, and otherwise, I can't feel guilty about it.  

That being said, I felt I really had to share some news and updates.   After the loss of Houdini, I was a little lost, but had to quickly get myself back on track so that we could charge ahead and help more cats.  We've had all kinds of interesting cats come in.  Like Twyla, who is a young mom who was pregnant and scared, so scared she would pee herself when she was touched.   She's had her babies and is now the sweetest cat ever.  She was an easy win.  

We got some new touch cases.  One from a local Humane society again - Bailee.  A cat who is older

Bailee

and was very obviously the victim of some traumatic abuse.  Like our boy Ramses, he would pee when people came in the room, but he one-upped that by pooping too :(  He's made some significant progress though although his abuses are obvious, just this morning or the first time his eyes are totally calm and he was giving me lots of slow blinks.   I think he is recoverable, but will definitely need some more time.  He's a cutie with a chubby little face and at least deserves a chance.  

We also got a terrified ginger tabby from another rescue named Chance.  This poor fellow ended up with a family that neglected him and didn't even bother to get him fixed the whole time they had him, then returned him because he was "stinky".  Seriously?  Of course he smelled, he was spraying!   No adoption process is 100% and unfortunately some slip through the cracks... Thankfully the family returned this fellow to the rescue, and when they saw his behavior wasn't something they could handle, they got in touch with us.  He's still in the early stages, but I think he can come around too.  Now that he's neutered his hormones have the chance to calm down and that should help bring him around.  

We had another sad incident on a personal level.  One of our amazing cats, Duck, who has been a huge help with many of our problem cats, has left for the rainbow bridge.  He fell very ill and unfortunately there was little we could do for him, so we had to make the right choice and let him go.  We've all been extremely upset about this, and even Quark was extremely depressed for a while.  She refused to eat and spent hours searching the house for her buddy.  It was incredibly heartbreaking.   Duck will be greatly missed.   We have placed his remains with Lou's, so that he can be with his spiritual mother for eternity.  RIP Duck. :(

Ramses, cuddled up on the bed.

The one story I really wanted to share though is one that I almost started to think would never happen, and it's the one that reminds us of why it is we do rescue and work with the cats we do.  I'm sure everyone remember Ramses, the beautiful cat who was trapped and left in the trap so long, traumatized and injured.   We spent a lot of time and effort getting him to a place where he was no longer afraid of humans, and even loved people once again.  His fears melted away and he became the most loving cat you could ever imagine.  But I don't know if it was because of his difficult past, or what, but it seemed like anyone who was interested in him just never committed, and he never even got to meet any potential forever families.   We were all sad about it, but had sort of resigned ourselves to the fact that he may never get adopted, although we were happy to have him stay with us for as long as he lived if necessary.  This little boy would never see hardship again if we could help it. 

Extremely hopeful for his chances, and knowing that he'd made an immense amount of progress, I asked Hubby if he thought Ramses would be good to go to an adoption event.   Events can be very overwhelming for sensitive cats, lots of sights, sounds, people moving and wide spaces, foreign environments.  We had to know though if Ramses could handle it, so I packed him up with the other kitties and brought him along.  He quietly let me pack him up (he'd already passed a vet visit with flying colors despite being poked and prodded), so I was hopeful this was a good sign.   As soon as we got to the event, I put down his soft carrier and realized there was a puddle below it.  Of pee.  Ramses had peed himself from fear - uh oh.   I set up the pen and got the cats unpacked, worried about his reaction when I opened his carrier.   He quietly allowed me to take him out and put him in the pen, where he immediately hid (as did several other sketchy cats).  Not a good sign but I had to push things a little, so removed the top from the carrier they were hiding in and hoped for the best.   Eventually Ramses settled down to lay beside me, and started looking around, interested, not scared, about what was going on around him.  Hopeful, I soldiered on.

I got a call from Lori about a lady coming to see Bruiser, a big black and white fellow who is completely laid back and unflappable.  She had unfortunately lost her elderly cat recently, and wanted a cat who would not cause issues with her remaining elder.   Bruiser would be a good fit, so Lori sent her over.  I was waiting for her to arrive and dealing with many lovely people, adopting out several kittens and discussing the history of various cats.   When the lady arrived, I could sense she was a good person, and truly loved cats.  I pointed her to Bruiser and she went to visit him.  But then she looked into the pen, and saw Ramses laying there, looking gorgeous and regal with his lions mane and calm demeanor.  Through the day he'd been allowing strangers, even loud children to pet and cuddle him.  This really made me feel good about his chances, but I wasn't going to get my hopes up too high.... until this lady's eyes met his and I saw a spark.  She asked about him, and I told her his story.  She was shocked and saddened, and asked if she could go into the pen and visit him.  I said absolutely!  She climbed over the pen, approaching him slowly, and lowered herself to sit with him.  She stroked him a few times, then picked him up and put him in her lap.  He cuddled in like he'd been sitting there all his life!   I was shocked and pleased, and the wonderful woman proceeded to spend nearly TWO HOURS with Ramses in her lap, petting him, cooing to him, just enjoying him.  I had NEVER seen him feel so safe and happy.  It was like he belonged there!!   Finally, covered in cat hair, the woman said she would have to think about it and would be in touch with me.  But I could see her hesitation when she set him down, and my heart leaped a little, hoping that I would hear from her sooner than later. 

As the lady left with assurances I would hear from her, we carried on with the event.  It was wonderful and the people at the Pet Valu store were amazing to us as always.   About a half an hour later, though, I looked outside and noticed the lady coming back....   Already?  No, it couldn't be.   I excitedly greeted her as she came back into the store and came back to the cat enclosure.  She rushed up and said she couldn't possibly leave without Ramses.  She had to come back and get him.   My eyes misted over and I immediately got her the required paperwork.  Hearing her talk about her other cats and all the things she'd done for them, I knew that if Ramses went home with this woman, he would live the best life we could possibly wish for him.   She hadn't really planned on bringing anyone home today, so I let her borrow a carrier, anything just to make sure that Ramses would leave with HER.   The look on her face when we loaded him up and she turned the carrier to look at him told me everything I needed to know.   Ramses had found his home.   After everything, the months and months of work, at times when I almost gave up hope... it all led up to this day.  This amazing day where this boy, who otherwise would have had NO chance of life, found his home.   I was in a daze as we finished the paperwork and she paid her fee...   Any adoptions are good, but this adoption.. this was spectacular!   It made the entire day, everything, worthwhile.   I thought the day might never come, but the universe surprised me, and made us all  SO very happy.

Ramses.... working with you taught me so much about myself.  You challenged my patience, my abilities, and what I thought I knew about troubled cats.  You taught me so much that I will in turn use to help other cats who have come from backgrounds just like you, and I promise I won't give up on them either.  I mean this in the best way possible, beautiful boy, I hope never to see you again except in pictures of you being happy and cherished in your very own home.   I love you and I couldn't be MORE happy for you.  You DESERVE this!  All cats deserve this, but for all you've been through, you really really deserve this.  I'm sorry people were terrible to you, and I'm sorry that people can be cruel and heartless.  But I am glad there are also people out there like your new mom who can make you forget those horrible things happened and show you a live filled with love and care.  I'm glad I was privileged to have a part to play in bringing you back from the mental hell you were in, and to show you that it was possible to feel safe and loved.  The whole family worked hard to show you affection and to show you a different way.  Now, I can sleep knowing that for the rest of your days, it's the ONLY way you will ever know.  As it should be.  I'm so glad this day came.

If you are interested in learning more about the amazing cats and kittens we have for adoption at NCWL, please check us out on Facebook, or visit our website.   Thanks for reading.