Well, see for yourself…………..

Turns out that this is the second time in a week that this little cat was found by someone and taken to the animal shelter. After the first incident, the shelter kept it for a few days and then released it back to it’s owner.
Apparently the kitty got out again, and thats when it showed up at our door .
This time around however, the owner couldn’t come up with the fines and boarding fees, so she decided to relinquish ownership .

The way it works in this county , if the finder is interested in keeping a relinquished pet, they get a one hour window of opportunity in which to apply for adoption before the general public gets a crack at it. Needless to say, we were there within that one hour time frame this morning …….and we adopted him!

He’s ours next Tuesday after they neuter him
His fur is still severely matted and we’re hoping that they will shave him while he’s still sedated from the neutering surgery.

btw….His name is Winston!

Severely matted and totally filthy (with a hunk of dried poop on it’s rear), this once beautiful Persian kitty , was lost or somehow got away from its owner. He was obviously very hungry so we fed him and did the best we could to clean him up. After he ate everything in sight, he playfully began to roll all over the kitchen floor and started rubbing on everything as if this was going to be his new home.

Because we have three other indoor kitties ( one who is also a Persian), and not knowing if this cat was sick or belonged to someone else, we reluctantly decided to drop it off at the local animal shelter.We knew that they would at least get it cleaned up and checked out by a vet. So, at 11 pm we drove him to the local animal shelter and placed him in one of those night deposit cages along with a note.
We’d only known this funny looking thing for an hour and we were already getting attached it to.

After a sleepless night of wondering if we had done the right thing, we called the shelter first thing this morning and they assured us that if the cat is deemed adoptable, that we would get first dibs at giving him a nice home.( if the owner doesn’t claim him)
We should know by next week if he’s gonna be part of our crazy family.

Despite countless tests and medical procedures , the so called “specialists “were unable to come up with a definitive cause for the obstruction. I don’t think it was asthma, but there was definitely a physical obstruction in his upper airway that made his breathing very labored with even minor exertion. To make things worse, he couldn’t breath very well through his nose. (Not a good thing for a cat) It would always whistle when he would try to breath through it.
The only treatment that they could recommend was continuous antibiotic therapy and steroids, so Douglas faithfully hand fed those drugs to Tiger Lilly three times a day for nearly three years, never missing a single day! It was three years of ups and downs, many times we thought we were going to loose him , but miraculously, (after a whopping injection of steroids) he would snap back and look fine for weeks.

I think the hardest part for me were those times when I would watch him try to eat his cat food while his breathing was so labored. It kinda hit to close to home and I would think to myself….. if I ever get that bad….please , just let me go. Unfortunately, cats cant tell you how they feel. Do they experience shortness of breath and pain the way humans do? I certainly hope not.

The dreaded day finally came yesterday when we knew what had to be done, we had to set his little spirit free. How selfish of us not wanting to let go sooner. Over the years that innocent creature endured more discomfort than humanly imaginable — How dare I complain of own my measly ailments!

To my partner who I cherish…Thank you for your tireless devotion in taking care of Tiger Lilly . I know your heart is broken , but I know you made a difference in his life— just like you’ve made in mine.

Goodbye our little hero. Our hearts will never be the same.