“I grew up with and have always had numerous cats in my home,” says Tanika, adoption and shelter manager for FF and foster. “My husband, Mike, on the other hand, grew up as a dog guy and had to get used to having a house full of kitties -- sleeping on our heads, stealing his warm spot when he got up to use the bathroom, etc.
“Tom Grey arrived at the shelter in terrible shape. He suffered from numerous health issues: he was diabetic, FIV+, had IBS, was underweight and had stomatitis. We fostered this sweet guy until he was healthy and then he was adopted. The adopter decided that she had taken on more than she could manage and actually tried to have him euthanized instead of returning him to the rescue. Thankfully, the vet contacted Furry Friends and we retrieved him immediately!
“Since our foster room was full, Tom lived with another foster for a year, but once ‘life took over’ and she could no longer care for him, he returned to us, where he’s now a permanent part of our family! His ‘bouncing around’ days are gone. Tommy gets along wonderfully with our two dogs and our other foster fails. He’s a big mama’s boy and wants lap time whenever I sit down. But best of all, he’s now a handsome hunk of a cat, and his diabetes and IBS are in full remission!
Mike and Poopsie
“Our latest foster fail and adoption in a long line of many is Poopsie. Mike and his co-workers found this particular cutie in the trucking yard at Frito Lay. Mama cat had hidden her kittens under the weight scale, causing concern that they might be struck by oncoming traffic. Mike and several employees spent days literally crawling through the weeds and grabbing kittens. Mama then moved the remaining ones to a neighboring business that allowed them to set up a trap.
“Mama and two kittens were successfully caught and brought here to be fostered. Mama, being feral, was spayed and vaccinated, and now lives on the property of a cat-loving Frito Lay employee’s home! Poopsie developed a severe eye infection while we were fostering her, but after months of medications, her eyes finally opened without any residual injury, except for a droop and some light watering. She was adopted, but shortly thereafter, her symptoms flared up, and because her adopter wasn’t prepared for the responsibility of medicating her, Poopsie was returned to the rescue and our home.
“This spunky kitty was very happy to be back in a familiar place -- or so she said since she’s extremely chatty – and that she needed to stay permanently. Poopsie gives us daily hugs, insists on lap time while we use the bathroom, and steals our pillows while we sleep, wrapping herself around our heads. Her eye will have a permanent droop, but we’re perfectly fine with that!”
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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and edited 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.
