This is a story from a woman who contacted CC4C through our hotline. We get many desperate phone calls daily about abandoned, homeless cats; injured cats; unwanted cats; people relocating; but this was a “happy endings” story thanks to a concerned citizen who cared about a lost cat …
“On a recent Sunday afternoon, an unbelievably emaciated, matted, weak cat hobbled up to my neighbor and me and asked for help. What was I to do? I had to take her home. I have two other cats, so she lived in my bathroom for a week. I bought expensive RX cat food for her. She ate 24 hours a day. She purred, a good sign. I called rescue groups, including CC4C and the East Bay SPCA. I searched Craigslist. I spoke with my neighbors. I looked for flyers on phone polls and in the window of the local market.
I contacted so very many cat rescue groups and CC4C was the only one to offer hope, encouragement and real, on the ground help, whatever it might be. Just the offer and the personal concern made a profound difference. The other groups could learn a lot from your compassion, tenacity, and interpersonal skills. I’ve spent the past year and a half dealing with breast cancer and unemployment. The stress was killing me. This was additional stress that I simply wasn’t equipped to handle emotionally, physically, financially.
Kay called and told me of a vet that would test the lost cat for Feline Leukemia and HIV. Before leaving for the vet, knowing that it could be her last afternoon, I took the kitty in my arms and sat in the sun. She purred. And then she perked up. I rose with her still in my arms and, like a feline Geiger counter, she perked up more, leading me down the street —to a flyer on a garden gate. The flyer had been posted that afternoon, a Thursday, and on it was a photo of the cat in my arms. The cat in the photo was in somewhat better shape but it was her, unmistakably so. It read:
Missing Cat: ‘Daisy lives on the corner of Washington and Scenic. She has been missing since Saturday morning. She is very old and ill. If you have seen her please contact us.’
My downstairs neighbor, Susan and I walked through the garden and up a flight of stairs where Daisy’s owner, Elisa, opened the door and burst into tears. Daisy is very old and frail. She eats all day without gaining weight and her fur is terribly matted due to her hyperthyroid condition. She really does look like she’s been trapped in a garage for 6 weeks. She’s a character, she’s spunky, and she gets around, apparently, although my neighbors and I had never met her before.
It was the best outcome. We were all stunned. We were all in tears.
The next morning, my neighbor Susan knocked on my front door and said “Look who’s here.” It was Daisy. She strolled in, hobbled through the house, into my kitchen, and before I could stop her she ate my cat Boo’s breakfast. I carried her back home. She returned five times that day …
Thank you, Laura and Kay and everyone at CC4C, from the bottom of my heart.”
xo Sally