Last month, 27 cats and kittens found their forever homes! This month’s group ranged from 12 weeks old to eight years old. Six kittens adopted this month were born in our rescue and knew the comforts of a warm bed and delicious food and treats from the beginning. Others were strays that needed time to decompress and learn how to become beloved family members over the course of several months. There were four double adoptions this month, and two cats were adopted by their foster families.
The road to adoption isn’t always easy—this month, there were some cases where cats required extensive medical care and extremely dedicated and patient foster families. 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. We have also created The Lazzy Fund, which gives a second chance to those cats who have been neglected and forgotten, including cats in need of critical and lifesaving medical care. This month, one of our Forgotten Feline program graduates was adopted!
One-year-old Willy’s story begins in Tennessee, where he was rescued by Purrfect Match Cat Rescue from a hoarding situation. Willy was born with mild to moderate Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH), which is a developmental condition in which the cerebellum of the brain fails to develop properly. CH does not inflicts pain, but does affect motor skills. In Willy’s case, this causes him to wobble in motion. Purrfect Match Cat Rescue asked us to help them find a forever home for Willy earlier this year, and he was transferred into our care in late January.
Willy has been described as having a “strong, inquisitive, affectionate” personality who loves food puzzles, toys, and being brushed. He never lets his CH condition deter him, and he gets around without issues. Willy’s foster mom, Sunny, told us that the moment she saw Willy, her heart skipped a beat. “He warmed right up to me. My love for this sweet, puppy-like boy was instant and deep. He filled my family and my lives with so much joy, even in just the short period he stayed with us. In my book, he is the perfect cat – he is so gentle, calm, affectionate, social, inquisitive, playful, and amazingly adaptable. I can’t say enough how wonderful he is!” Sunny told us that Willy makes friends easily and smoothly, and during his time with her, had a great influence on her other foster cat, Ivory, who came from a feral background. The two of them bonded well, and shy, timid Ivory came out of her shell and began playing, chasing, pouncing, and rolling on the floors with Willy!
In February, Willy made an appearance on Studio 10’s Place a Pet, and one of the staff members fell in love with him. She and her family applied for and adopted Willy within two weeks of meeting him! Willy’s mom, Kassi, updated us on how Willy is doing. “Willy joined our family a little over two weeks ago, but I cannot imagine a life without him now. He sleeps upstairs with his 8-year-old human and at 6:30AM, he wakes her up for school. He goes into his cat carrier uncoached and patiently waits for her to carry him downstairs to start his day with Grandma.
Grandma usually already has breakfast ready for him, which makes him super happy. Like most grandkids, Grandma has spoiled Willy rotten; he has toys as far as the eye can see. They spend their day watching birds on the TV (yes, Willy sits and watches TV) playing, gazing out the window, and sleeping until his human kid gets home from school.
Once she is home, the fun starts all over again. He is always excited to see her and chases her around when she walks in the door. At dinnertime, Willy goes back upstairs and enjoys his time with the rest of the family. He is never alone. He loves to snuggle, play, and be part of whatever action is going on around him. He brings joy wherever he goes. For those who believed he could not climb, this isn’t true! He has managed to get into every bed in the house and enjoys sleeping on Dad’s side of the bed most! We cannot wait to see what he does next!”
Congratulations to Baby Bean, Batman, Bertoux, Bibble, Circe, Dartmouth 2, Dartmouth 3, Delano, Gertie, Goldie, Gus, Hartley, Henny, Izzy, Lionel, Mae, Martell, Millie, Moe-Moe, Pansy, Primrose, Remmy, Serenity, Squeaky, Tater, Vilma, and Willy for finding their forever homes!
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.