Adoption of cats with physical issues

Today I learned that another sweet cat that is not physically perfect was adopted from the Metrowest Humane Society cat shelter. I have had the pleasure of knowing 3 of them briefly during my visits to volunteer there. I help socialize some of the formerly feral cats and also offer them Reiki. There are 2 isolation rooms on the same floor, and cats that are on medications or need special watching or care are usually in them. I met Nilla and Lucky that way. Gus was on the 2nd floor with the adoptable cats in a double cage during his stay. All 3 of these cats were at the shelter for a short time, considering their issues. It is a tribute to the shelter and the care that they give their feline charges how quickly these 3 cats were adopted.

Nilla was hit by a car and left for dead in the road. She needed 2 surgeries and then physical therapy. One of her back legs doesn’t bend as much as it would normally, so she hobbles around. But she is adorable, sweet and very friendly. I had the pleasure of giving her some Reiki each time I was there (after she no longer needed her physical therapy and it was OK that I go into her room). I know her new people will love having her in her life.

Lucky was a handsome orange tabby who was missing part of a back leg – from the knee down. He came to the shelter that way, and I’m not sure of his history or how he came to the shelter. He was a very friendly, sweet cat, also, and enjoyed attention and the Reiki I gave him before leaving for the day on my visits. I only got to see him two Wednesdays before he was adopted. I’m sure both he and his new people are very happy to be together.

Gus, the first of these three amazing cats that I met, had a problem with his eyes. It seemed as though it was painful for him to open them. I asked about him and was told he might need to have his eyes removed. I gave him Reiki and hoped for the best. The next week, he wasn’t there, he was at the vet for an appointment. The next week, he had had eye surgery, I believe to fix a problem with his inner lids, and also to make his eye openings a little bigger so he could see better. He was on medication and I could see his stitches, but he looked good. I saw him the next week roaming free – while volunteers are there, they will let the adoptable cats that get along with others out of their cages while they are cleaned. He seemed well-adjusted and happy to be out and about. That was the last I saw of him, the next week he was gone, having been adopted over the weekend.

I feel so honored to be able to meet and get to know some of the cats at the shelter. On days when I’m not feeling so great, I push myself to go, as I know as soon as I go through the door of the third floor with my jar chicken baby food in hand, to where the ‘forget-me-knots’, as the former feral cats are called, are, I feel so much better, just to see some of them come up to me (even if for some of them, it’s only because they know I have that jar in my hand). The area has such a wonderful energy to it. Cats are amazing adaptable creatures, and I am proud to say I am a cat person.