Misty’s prescription food sat on the cabinet in the entryway, as the weeks turned into months. One of the final lingering momentos of her illness.
It had been the hub of supplies when she was sick. The leftover medications had been disposed of, the syringes for her hourly feeds packed away among first aid supplies. The array of regular foods, bought in the neverending quest to find something she would eat, had been given to Sephi. But the prescription foods, designed specifically for oncology patients and syringe feeding, remained.
I always knew where I wanted to donate it. The organization who took care of both Misty and my late dog Billy when I was in temporary housing, back in 2018/2019. They help vulnerable people - the homeless, the elderly, the disabled, the sick - to take care of their pets. I felt that they would be sure to get the specialty food where it was most needed.
Even as I packed in preparation to move house, as the landlord was planning to demolish the one I had lived in for the past two years, the food still sat there. A week before the move, I finally contacted the organization, asking if they would be able to take the donation. Then, with my support worker S, we made the 35 minute drive to drop it off.
It was hard. It felt very final. But I couldn’t put it off any longer. While we were there, the strangest thing happened. As we chatted with the staff - about Misty, her illness, about Sephi - another staff member came out, and immediately asked if we were there to meet Zazu.
I’d seen him before on their Facebook page, an orange boy looking for a home. But I was not planning to meet him. It was too soon. But as they talked excitedly about him, I began to come around to the idea of just a quick visit.
“Maybe we can do a detour to give him some company for a bit, since we’ve already come all this way.”
And off we went to their cattery. During the short drive, I told S to not get too excited, that I was not going to be adopting him, that it was too soon, and that I was moving the next week, and I just wanted to visit him. But when I did meet him, my heart melted.
We sat in the play area with him for an hour, running well over our scheduled support time. This beautiful little guy was still so happy, despite his circumstances. He was playful, loving, incredibly sweet. As we left, I asked the staff what the process would look like if I was looking to adopt, which I wasn't, and an application form fell into my hand.
It was a long process. After the application, there was phone calls, then a home check, and finally a two week trial before permanent adoption. On top of moving house, the person who did the home checks was away, so it was a few weeks before that could even happen. So for four weeks, S and I went to visit him twice a week.
The staff told us on that first day that he takes a while to warm up to people, and that he prefers to hide away. So, on the second visit the following day, I almost cried when he walked up and climbed into my lap, flopping down and purring. That was when I knew.
I was not planning to bring in another cat so soon. I wanted to wait at least a few more months. If the adoption for Zazu didn’t go ahead, I would’ve waited longer. But for him, I had to. I felt that we needed each other.
Miss Sephi had developed some behavioural issues after Misty passed. To cut a long story short, on the rare occasions that I would leave the house, she would become aggressive when I got home, growling and hissing, biting and scratching. She was not coping with being alone. She was put on medication, just for those days I left the house, and over time, it helped.
After the move, she had been a perfect sweetheart. She no longer needs the medication. She hasn’t hissed or scratched once. I feel like the change of environment was good for her. Perhaps she wasn’t ‘expecting’ Misty to be here. This made me a lot more confident in bringing in a second cat, as I was unsure if I could while she was having issues. Maybe a new friend will even be good for her. I still had a phone consult with her vet first, just to get advice on bringing in a second cat. But it has been going well. They are not best friends yet, but they are tolerating each other, which is as good as can be expected.
Adoptions are not in this organization's MO. They have only ever adopted out a couple of cats. So when the timing lined up for me to have to donate Misty’s food, and Zazu having just been listed for adoption days earlier, perhaps it was just meant to be.
There is not a great deal known about his history, and what is known is quite sad. I’m not sure if I should share it here, for the sake of his previous human, but I will say that he has had quite a journey to get to where he is now. He's around three years old - a little younger than Sephi, who will be five in a couple of weeks. It took six months living at the cattery, with their care and love, to rehabilitate him to the point that he could be adopted.
I just wanted to give him the safe and happy home that he deserves, and I feel truly honored that they agreed I was a good match for him. When they came out to do the home check, they immediately said that they had seen the photos of me with him (S insisted on showing them), and that the visit was just to tick the boxes, because they already knew they were going to give him to me.The day I brought him home was the happiest I’ve felt in a long time. Contented.
Happy New Year to everyone in our little blogosphere. I’ve been trying to stay up to date with reading, but my reading list page seems to be broken, making it difficult. It shows a couple of regular posts, and then jumps back to posts from 9 years ago, and longer, no matter how far I scroll. (Is anyone else having this problem?) Hopefully it is fixed soon.
See you all in 2025.
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