Since we adopt between 100 and 200 cats in any given year, there are many stories we could share about cats who came from difficult situations and ended up in safe and loving homes thanks to the dedication of our volunteers. Here are just a few of those stories.
Lily
Lily was found wandering the streets, thin and matted. When she came into care, she was very ill. She could not hold food down, with nearly all the food she ate being vomited or going straight out the other end. At one point she was unable to eat at all without vomiting it all back up. Slowly, and with great care from her foster and our veterinarians, Lily began to be able to keep food down, and became stronger. Eventually she was ready for her forever home. The stress of the change caused a setback for poor Lily, who need more TLC before she finally started to come around again.
Once she started feeling better, she wanted to play non-stop and was a very vocal communicator with her people, asking for attention and playtime. Lily is now an energetic, happy kitty, like she was always meant to be.
Domino
Domino was living outside and fed by kind neighbours for about a year before he came into CRN’s care. While his caregivers did the best they could for him, including building him a shelter, as winter approached, they felt that he deserved a life indoors. Shortly before Domino came into care, he appears to have gotten in a fight – we don’t know if he was attacked by a cat or another animal, but when he took him into care he was covered with blood, wounds and deep bruises.
Once in foster care, Domino blossomed into a friendly and loving cat, and was quickly adopted into a loving home.
Luna
Luna’s mom left her litter of sick kittens when they were just days old. Springing into action, the CRN team took on the kittens, working around the clock to keep them fed, and to help ease symptoms of their upper respiratory infection (URI). Luna was lucky enough to have a surrogate mom, but she would not nurse from her. She had to be tube fed, and eventually syringe fed for her to survive. Despite several rounds of antibiotics, the URI left its mark. Her eyes were both infected before she could even open them. While one healed, her foster noticed a film on the other eye.
Fortunately, with surgery, we were able to save her eye, although she cannot see out of it. Luna, and the struggle for her survival, also left a mark on her foster mom, who fell for both Luna’s sweetness and toughness to overcome all that she had gone through and ended up adopting Luna herself.
Baloo
Baloo is a kind soul who has lived a hard life and has the scars to prove it. He was living outdoors in a park for a long time before he was able to be brought into care. His feeder asked many rescues for help, and they all turned her down. Bylaw said they would take him – but only to euthanize him. CRN and Seniors, Kittens And Shy Cats Rescue teamed up to help Baloo. When he was finally trapped, his ears were frostbitten, he was deeply matted, had rotting and broken teeth, and many war wounds. During his many fights, he also acquired Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).
As part of Baloo’s extensive vetting, he had 21 of his teeth removed – many of which were broken below the gumline. We believe that Baloo was once someone’s pet but was discarded at some point. We will never know Baloo’s story, and how or why he came to be in the situation he was in but are happy that we can be part of his healing journey.
Grayson
Grayson was found in the woods on a very cold day in January when temperatures were -30 with the wind-chill. He was under a tree and had dug through the snow and into the soil, trying to find warmth. His tail was frozen in the snow. He was found by a woman who was walking her dog, and she took him to her house and contacted us. We are sure that she saved his life that day.
Grayson is a big personality – he’s an opinionated cat who knows what he wants and does not want. He has found himself a home where he is loved unconditionally, despite his quirks – or perhaps, because of them.
Chilli
Chilli was a cat that just showed up in a neighbourhood one day. His eventual foster coaxed him into her backyard and saw in his eyes that he wanted help. She called CRN, and we agreed to take him in. Chilli was clearly so much happier and more comfortable as an indoor kitty.
Chewbacca
Chewbacca was born in a garage and had not been socialized by people when he came into the rescue. He was hissy and seemed aggressive – and quite scary – when he was brought into care. With time, patience and love, Chewbacca became a friendly and adoptable cat. He was adopted with two of his sisters – his adopters still give us yearly updates and photos!
Meet some of our adorable (now adopted) foster cats!
Get ready to fall in love with our furry feline friends! Check out these heartwarming photos of the cats we’ve had the pleasure of rescuing and fostering.
See more of our recently adopted cats & kittens on Petfinder.com.