17 cats and kittens found their forever homes in the new year! The month’s group ranged from approximately 7 months to 5 years old – several of these cats and kittens arrived to our rescue due to unfortunate circumstances that were no fault of their own, while others were humanely trapped as strays thanks to our community cats efforts. Two of the kittens adopted in January were born while in our rescue and have known the comforts of indoor life and full bellies from the beginning. Four of the cats who were adopted benefited from The Lazzy Fund, which was created to give a second chance to cats who have been neglected and forgotten, including cats in need of critical and lifesaving medical care.
Our rescue relies heavily on donations from our amazing supporters to help us give the cats in our care the best possible chance at long, healthy lives where they are cherished by their forever families. In response to the cats in our program’s needs, we have created our Forgotten Feline program to help scared and under-socialized cats regain trust and confidence. The Forgotten Feline program and The Lazzy Fund help many of our cats during their time in our rescue!
At approximately three weeks old, Ibu and his five siblings were left in a box overnight at Ocean State Veterinary Specialists the day before Mother’s Day. Ocean State Veterinary Specialists contacted Ten Lives on Mother’s Day morning to ask if we could help, and one of our amazing foster moms offered to take all six siblings in. Over the course of the following weeks, she bottle-fed all of them and cared for them as they grew. Since this litter was rescued on Mother’s Day, Ibu and his siblings were all given names that mean “mother” in various languages. Ibu’s name is Indonesian.
Ibu is different from his siblings because he has unique characteristics—he has a cleft lip, and is a polydactyl—he has about 16 toes! When Ten Lives took Ibu and his siblings in, he was the sickest of the bunch. He had an upper respiratory infection and conjunctivitis, and also had mycoplasma. Thanks to The Lazzy Fund, Ibu received the care he desperately needed, and has since become an active, playful kitten! As Ibu and his siblings grew, his foster mom’s daughter returned home from college and immediately connected with Ibu. She became his primary caregiver, and she soon realized that she couldn’t say goodbye and made the decision to adopt him! Ibu’s adopter, Sydney, was kind enough to share her fostering and adoption experience with us for this blog post:
“When I came home from college in June, I met Ibu and his siblings and while I instantly fell in love with all of them, there was something special about Ibu. He had an extra playful personality and was so eager to explore. Some of his siblings were on the shy side, but Ibu was fearless. When he was big enough, we played a lot and had sleepovers, and he always hopped up on my desk as I was studying for the LSAT to keep me company. After his siblings had gotten adopted, Ibu stayed with my family and I for an extended period of time since he was not quite ready for adoption. From October until December, I took care of Ibu by feeding him, playing with him, and taking him to his vet appointments. It did not take me long to realize that I wanted to adopt him myself. When I made the decision about keeping him, there was never a second that I doubted wanting to move forward with his adoption.
This past month, I started law school at Pace University. Ibu has moved into my new apartment with me and is thriving. Some of his favorite hobbies are playing with his toy mice, running under the blankets, drinking out of the faucet, watching the cars drive by, and of course, napping. Ibu and I are together every second that I am home, and when I get back from school, he runs out of his tunnel and greets me with the biggest meows. He has been the most perfect companion and our bond has grown very strong. He is extremely well-behaved, independent but playful, and very friendly. I am lucky to have had such a great experience co-fostering and adopting such an amazing cat.”
We are grateful to Ibu’s incredible foster mom and her family for saving Ibu and his siblings from an uncertain fate, and to Sydney for adopting him! We are also grateful to Ocean State Veterinary Specialists for everything that they do to help sick/surrendered cats, and we are thankful to be one of their trusted partners so we can help cats like Ibu and his siblings.
This past month, we also had a double adoption! Gemini and Frida met while waiting for their forever homes at PetSmart in Warwick, Rhode Island, and they quickly became best friends! Gemini joined our rescue in November 2022 when his owners moved and were unable to take him with them. Gemini spent a little over a month in a foster home before being transferred to the care of our dedicated PetSmart volunteers. Frida’s story begins in Tennessee, where she was rescued by Purrfect Match Cat Rescue. Described by them as having “an amazing personality,” Frida also joined our rescue in November 2022. During her time with her original foster family, Frida was extremely timid, especially around new people. When she was transferred to PetSmart a few weeks later, it was expected that she would need a few days to decompress. However, as soon as Frida entered the room in her carrier and saw the other cats, she immediately opened up. She blossomed during her time at PetSmart, and became her happiest self while surrounded by other cats. Once she and Gemini became friends, they helped each other become more confident in their surroundings and around new people. Their cages were next to each other, and they often batted paws with each other even while in their cages. As soon as one of them was out of their cage, they were instantly in front of the other’s cage in an effort to let our volunteers know they wanted to hang out and play!
After Gemini was adopted, his adopters expressed interest in eventually adopting a second cat. Knowing Gemini and Frida’s bond, one of our Adoption Coordinators asked his adopters if they’d be interested in adopting Frida. Gemini’s family met and also fell in love with Frida, and they adopted her, as well! Gemini and Frida are now continuing to thrive and play together in their loving, forever home!
Congratulations to Bubblegum, Chickadee, Frida, Gemini, Gigi, Gloria, Ibu, Jenny, Lakeview 1, Laurel Hill 5, Liza, Mango, Meella, Moonlight, Noel, Sunny Day, and Sybil for finding their forever homes in January!
Are you interested in adopting a cat from Ten Lives Cat Rescue? Take a look at our adoptable cats!
How can you help the cats currently in Ten Lives’ care? Sponsor a Forgotten Feline, become a foster, apply for one of our volunteer opportunities, donate to The Lazzy Fund, or purchase a needed item on our Wishlist.