Leonidas and the Saals: Furry Friends Fur-Ever

“My daughter loves animals of all kinds and sends me links to interesting shelter pets,” says Rob. “She recently sent me the link for Leonidas at Furry Friends, and he immediately stood out. While we weren't looking for any new pets at the time, I had a ‘low priority’ desire to find a friend for our other cat.

“Although I’m much more of a dog person, the thought of a three-legged cat appealed to me since I have a large number of collectibles, and assumed he wouldn’t be a climber. I visited Leonidas and felt an instant connection with him. He was chilling on the highest perch of a cat tree, looking simultaneously disinterested, regal and in need of some head pets!

“I video-chatted with my daughter at college 100 miles away, and she was stunned by how cute he was. She came home the next day. We returned to the Furry Friends shelter, reassured ourselves that Leonidas was still amazing, and promptly adopted him. For the first time in my history of adopting shelter pets, I felt his name was not only fitting, it was awesome! He’s missing a leg, missing a fang, has bare patches of fur, and has a glare that can freeze a pit bull in its tracks. That said, Leonidas is the most affectionate, loving and calm cat I’ve ever met.

“As much as I love sharing my home with amazing pets, I derive a special joy out of adopting the ‘broken’ ones. Besides Leonidas, we have a tripawd dog named Dobby and a blind cat named Murdoch aka the ‘kitty without fear.’ After exploring his new environment awhile, Leonidas promptly made himself at home. He naps here, there and everywhere – from beds and couches to nooks and Squishmallow cat beds. 

“He has an interesting personality in that he doesn’t really play, but he adores being petted, particularly on his head. He seems to love Dobby, running up to him and rubbing all over him, and although he mostly ignores Murdoch, my daughter has adopted a former foster kitten, and they wrestle and chase each other.

“I couldn’t be happier that I adopted Leonidas! He has the most intense expression, but if you peer closer, his missing tooth makes it look as if he’s sneering at you while he’s ever so slightly cross-eyed. Feeding him treats never fails to make me laugh. His cheeks bunch up like a squirrel, his abnormally long tongue flicks around to compensate for his missing fang, and his eyes are narrowed in satisfaction.

“Simply put, Leonidas is the best!” 

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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.