It was July 2011 and I saw a post on a facebook animal rescue group I was a part of that there was a kitten in terrible shape at the Claim Jumper in Tempe.  The post read: ” can someone please go try to trap this kitten, you can see it’s bones and just pitiful looking”.  And with me, once I read it I can’t ignore it.  So after work I went to the Claim Jumper.

I drove around the parking lot twice and their he was. He was even worse than what I had in my imagined.  He was so skinny, you could see all his bones, including his facial bones.  Despite his appearance, he was extremely feral and ran every time I got close.  I knew I had to keep trying, he would die that night if I didn’t catch him and get him some vet care.

I spent four hours  chasing him around the parking lot, he would eat a bit of the food I would put down, then run.  I set the trap up and he would go in it, but he was not heavy enough to set the trap off.

At this point I was dehydrated and overheated.  I was in my black suit from working that day and it was the middle of July in Arizona.  I was afraid if I left to get something to drink I would loose him.

Throughout the night, people were coming out of the restaurant and asking me if I was ok or if I needed help, I had to explain I was trying to catch a kitten.  They thought I was crazy.  I just had to push it out of my mind.  I could get over people thinking I was crazy, but I couldn’t get over leaving this baby to die.

I found some rope in my truck and tied it to the door of the trap, I had one last can of sardines I put some in the back of the crate and waited about 20 minutes for him to slowly walk in, I pulled the rope and the door closed!

I got him!  I  started crying it was so overwhelming.  He was so wild and was jumping all over the crate trying to find a way out.

I put him in the car and talked to him the whole way home.  Once we got back to my house, I had to sneak him in as I had not told Erick who I was living with that I was bring another rescue home.

Erick loved cats, but he hated that I needed to save them all.  I knew he would be annoyed every time, so I had time the news of a a new one.  He would always be mad, but he would just get over it as he didn’t want me to move out and he knew I would.

So brought the kitty the next morning to the spay and neuter clinic in Gilbert.  He got shots and de-wormed.  He was so dehydrated his poop was white and hard, like chalk.  I really didn’t think he would make it, but I was going to give him love while he was here.

Each day he just got better and healthier.  I just couldn’t believe it.  I would come home from work everyday and spend hours playing with him and getting him used to me.  He would fall asleep in my arms every night purring.   He got better every day, he purred the loudest I’d ever heard a kitten purr.  I was so excited how far he had came.  I really still was in shock.  I couldn’t find pictures of him when I first got him. 

I grew pretty attached to Gizmo which is what I named him.  But I couldn’t keep him, Erick would not allow that! So eventually it was time to be neutered and find a furrever home.

Here are some videos I made:

 

 

 

I posted him on Craigslist and after a few weeks found an amazing family to adopt him.  I took him to their house and brought a whole basket of goodies for him.

I was nervous the whole drive, when you find a home for a kitten or cat you’ve worked so hard with and bonded with it’s just heart wrenching each time.  I pulled up and Marc and Kristen were so friendly.  They had one cat already Mortimer who was awesome. I let Gizmo out of his crate and he just ran and hid.  I had prepared Marc & Kristen about Gizmos personality and that they would have to keep working with him.  They were ready for the challenge.  They knew that they could call me if it wasn’t going to work out and I would come get him.  I think that always makes people more at ease.  My heart felt very happy when I left their house.

I checked in with them over the next few months a few times, and all was going good.  The last time I checked in with them was the following new year of 2012.

This was the update:

“He’s super friendly with us, but fairly shy when it comes to strangers. That’s pretty normal for both of our cats though.  The only bad thing is that he constantly tried ruining our Christmas tree and we had to take it down.”

I was happy with this update and I could let go.

I was just going through e-mails a few months ago and sending off emails to

many people that I had adopted our cats/kittens to tell them about the Cat Cafe.  I heard back from Marc & Kristen and am just so full of joy.

Here is his update!

“Our kitty is doing great. We called him Miles. He had some health problems a couple years ago (crystals in urine) that landed him in the EAC but now he has a special diet and has been healthy since. He is still a bit easily spooked but will come to you to say hi and cuddle when everything is calm. He is best bros with our other cat, Mortimer. They are often found cuddling or play fighting. They like to sleep all day and run races through the halls at 2am”.

 

 

The greatest happiness my heart has ever felt is finding a loving and amazing family for a kitten or cat. -Melissa Pruitt