Earl and Misty are two 8 year old siblings that were surrendered to a local animal shelter because their family was forced to move and could not find cat-friendly housing. Animal Shelter Relief (ASR) worked with their family for 3 months to try to find placement so that they wouldn't have to be surrendered to the shelter, but it is not easy finding a home for 2 middle-aged, adult cats when there are so many kittens grabbing the spotlight. In addition, Earl suffered from seizures when he was younger and has been on anti-seizure medication for the last few years, which has altogether stopped the seizures, but there is the cost of the medication: $78 per month.
Moving day came and Earl & Misty were brought to the animal shelter. The caring shelter staff called ASR immediately, as their cages were full and they could not place an older cat with a health issue such as Earl's. ASR has only one foster home that can take older, adult cats, and this wonderful foster home agreed to take them. The shelter staff warned us that Earl and Misty were extremely traumatized from their 2-night stay at the shelter. We weren't surprised at this news since they had lived their entire lives in one home, but we were shocked at just what an emotional toll this life change took on them. Both kitties refused to eat, or even move, for a week. We rushed them to our veterinarian, who ran various tests and blood panels which were only slightly abnormal. Our vet determined that it was simply stress. So, we went to work trying to make them more comfortable, and helping them to eat and gain back weight.
It's been two months and Earl is doing really good. He had a turnaround a few weeks ago and has gained back the several pounds that he lost. We know now that Earl wants nothing more than a warm lap and to purr away the day!
Misty however, could not overcome the trauma of her upheaval. She came to us as a 22 pound, stunning Calico, but she lost 8 lbs in only 6 weeks. Tragically, after a lifetime of health, Misty suffered a stroke 2 weeks ago and died.
We are happy that we were able to give Earl and Misty a second chance, even if there was nothing more we could do for poor Misty. Now we are focusing on Earl and finding him his forever home. It may take awhile, but we know there's someone(s) out there who will love and appreciate him.
In the meantime, Earl's monthly medications are a problem for ASR's shoestring budget. If you cannot adopt Earl, would you be willing to sponsor him and help ASR pay for his anti-seizure medication? You can make a recurring donation via Paypal earmarked for our special orange boy. Let's make 2017 the best year yet for Earl!
