Animal Rescue Stories

Cowboy hats freaked him out

It started with responding to a Craigslist ad asking if anyone could take care of a 6 week old female kitten who wouldn't stop crying.

We had room in our home and our hearts. Our oldest cat had passed away three months prior when we responded to this woman's plea. She had been feeding the kitten human infant formula and the poor little babe wouldn't stop crying.

When we arrived, we found out that the kitten had been found along the highway, next to its mother who had been hit. It was a miracle that it was alive. I looked at the kitten and realized that it was closer to 3.5 weeks and a male. My husband had a strict no males policy.

I looked at this wee one and knew that if we didn't take him, he would die. But I had to tell my husband the truth. He looked at me and said, No it's a girl. We're taking her. We fed Mew baby turkey food until we could get some kitten formula. Mew still kept crying. And there was another problem.

Mew wasn't going potty. We were following the instructions that our book on raising kittens said, but it wasn't working. So as soon as we could, we took him into the vet. The veterinarian took a look and said, you have a 3.5 week male kitten. He listened to his insides, gave him the equivalent of a kitten enema, and he was fine. Had we not taken him in and taken him to the vet, he would have died because of the obstruct caused by being fed human infant formula.

He was like a baby to me. I fed him round the clock and sang lullabies to him. He grew up healthy and happy, with the exception of one oddity. Any time my husband would put on a cowboy hat, he would hide under the bed. He never behaved that way with any other hats, just the cowboy hat. We always wondered if the man who had found him next to his mother had been wearing one. We will never know.

Shelly
VERADALE, WA

Callie

I started feeding this beautiful Calico cat outside my back door, but she would only eat after I closed the door. This went on for many months until one day, two coyotes had her cornered up a tree. I went out with a baseball bat and scared them away.

The next meal, she didn't run and actually let me pet her! Then she licked my hand! She slowly started coming inside but always with the door open.

Five years later, she is sleeping on my bed.

She didn't know how to live in a home, but my Maine Coon showed her the ropes: how to use the litter box, how to ask for treats, how to play with toys. Now, they both sleep on my bed with me.

Holly Staron
BLOOMINGDALE, IL

Ah Girl

Someone had abandoned a dog at a lonely stretch of road near my home, and four lovely puppies were born a week later. Three were brownies and one a mix of black and white. The puppies were housed inside a roadside scupper and the mother dog would show her displeasure when someone went near. If it rained, I worried the puppies would be washed away, if not drowned.

A friend posted photographs of the puppies on the internet and within a week, all the puppies were adopted but not the mother dog - I named her Ah Girl. Ah Girl was lonely and hungry because she could not find food, so I fed her twice daily. She would wait for my arrival at the T-junction where I would give her meals. Each time I left, she would attempt to prevent me from leaving.

Two weeks later, I saw that she was wounded. I thought in time, it would heal. Instead, it got worse. So I took her home and gave her medical treatment. After the wound healed, she was spayed to join the rest of my dogs. My wife and I agreed that this would be our last addition. We already had six adult dogs.

Ah Girl is 15 years old next month and she is the only one still with us.

Loke Larry
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Saving Clayton

I was grocery shopping one day and needed additional groceries that the store where I was shopping didn’t have. I wanted to head home because I was tired, but something made me drive to the next store.

About three miles before my next grocery store, the busy highway I was on had construction going on for quite some time. As I was driving, I saw a little furball up the road running across this busy highway with a construction worker chasing it. When I was closer, I saw it was a tiny kitten.

Without thinking, I slammed on the brakes, turned on the flashers, and jumped out of my car. I wasn’t thinking of anything but saving this kitten. I joined the construction worker and I don’t even know what I said, as everything seemed to be happening so fast. The kitten made it across all four lanes. I don’t know how he made it, but he hid in a huge Caterpillar dump truck tire tread. The treads on this dump truck were deep, and we couldn’t get this tiny kitten out because it was scared of all the noise and from being chased. We were being careful as to not let the kitten escape again and run back into traffic.

We finally did get the kitten out, and I held him really tight in my arms so no escape was possible. I asked the construction worker if he could take the kitten, and of course he said I’m working I can’t. Another lady stopped to see what the commotion was, and I asked her if she wanted a kitten. She said she had dogs and could not take this kitten.

I already had a 20 year old cat that needs daily fluid injections due to renal failure and was quite busy with her, but I didn’t want to bring this cute little furball to the shelter so I decided to keep him. I named him Clayton, after the name of the town in which I found him, and I love him more than anything.

I will never know why Clayton was on this highway, if somebody just dumped him or his mom had a litter in the woods and he wandered off, I will never know. I try not to think about it because it would break my heart if somebody just dumped him, as I could not fathom somebody having the heart to do this to any animal.

He has had all his shots, is neutered, and is happy in our home. He will always be an inside cat, no more outside life for Clayton.

Marlene Nagengast
SMITHFIELD, NC

Canoe Kitty

I started seeing a little striped gray kitty hanging around my house, and I could tell she was starving. Whenever I saw her, I’d quickly take a bowl of food out to her. We have a canoe out back covered with a tarp, and I noticed that she was taking cover under the canoe, so I put some straw down and some old blankets.

That winter, a cold snap hit us, 50 degrees below zero, and I looked for her desperately. My next door neighbor told me she was under their house, so I started bringing a bowl of warmed up wet cat food to her every day, as well as a bowl of fresh water warmed up. She’d meow at me but kept her distance. I would cry every day for her, because 50 below zero is not only cold, it hurts.

Eventually the weather broke, and one day she just walked up to me meowing and hissing, and I reached out and touched her. She let me pet her, and since then, she’s my baby. I just adore her, and I took her to the vet for shots and wellness check. She had worms, which we treated, and she’s so happy now that she’s found her forever family! The vet checked for a spay scar, but she doesn’t have one. I’ve known her for three years now, and she’s never gone into heat or gotten pregnant. So I decided not to put her through the surgery. We think it might be because the starvation she suffered through may have damaged her reproductive organs, we’re not sure.

She’s tiny though, no more than 5 or 6 pounds, with little paws the size of a kittens. I just adore her, and I had my boyfriend build a little house for her in our garage with a heating pad and portable heater for winter. She’s quite comfortable in there. She does still stay outside, but doesn’t wander too far away, and we live on a dead end street with very little traffic. And of course, she can get into our garage through a secret passage way we made for her. The canoe is still in our yard, and occasionally I’ll see her in there.

She kills a few mice here and there that venture into our yard, but has never gone after any birds or squirrels. Every night after supper, my boyfriend and I go sit outside, around our fire pit, and she sits on my lap, and gets brushes and lots of loving pets.

Lori Laky
REEDSBURG, WI

My baxter

In October 2015, I lost my mum. My first furbaby Tommy got me through some tough days. But then in March 2016, he was diagnosed with liver cancer. He passed away in June 2016. My life was in bits; I was struggling. Then a post on Facebook showing a dog rescue made me look at another dog.

We made an appointment to see a dog, but sadly, it wasn't going to work. However, the rescue asked if we'd like to see another dog, and my Baxter - who looked so traumatized - came towards us and nervously wagged his tail.

I always say he rescued me. Without him in my life, I wouldn't be here. I was traumatized, too. Baxter was 8-years-old when we got him. His owner had passed away, and he had nobody who could take him.

He is 14 now, a little slower and has the beginning of cataracts, but otherwise he's doing brilliantly. He is my world. He kept me going after the year from hell Id had. How ever much time we have together, I treasure every single day.

Allison B.
Hull, United Kingdom

Rescued in a rainstorm

One night about 8pm during a rainstorm, I saw something hopping across the road. When I realized it was a kitten, with very little chance of survival, I stopped, put on my hazard lights, grabbed a pair of gloves I always carry with me, and ran out in the rain. I realized that I may only have one chance to save it. When I got close enough, I grabbed it and rolled it in a towel.

I brought it back home while still shaking from the trauma. My dad agreed to take the little kitten in. Gave it a tick and flea shampoo bath, treated his bleeding ear, and the next day, had the vet check it out and later had it neutered. That was in March 2020…so we called him Spotty Corona.

He has now grown to be a beautiful cat and while he mixes with my dad’s two other cats and a Golden Doodle, he sleeps in the guest bathroom. My parents unfortunately cannot keep him forever but gave him the best start they could. He is ready to find a forever home of his own and will bring much joy to his new owners.

henniemac@me.com
TAMPA, FL

Tux - Sexy, Black and Mine

Tux was about 8-months-old when fall began to fade. His brother was taken by another professor, and I figured that this green-eyed black cat that remained would not survive on our rural campus as winter set in.

One day, he greeted me near the building's front door and showed me a nest he'd made in a lilac bush. I had named him and let him in my office daily to feed him. We had become chums and I knew he wasn't aware of how tough things could get. I took him home just before Halloween.

Tux was my only four-legged pet, but I had two birds. He never bothered them. In fact, one day I came home from work, and he met me and led me into my music room to show me where my cockatiel was sitting. Homer had gotten out of her cage and Tux was upset. Nobody was hurt, and Homer was safely returned to her cage. Tux likes to watch birds, but never calls to them.

Tux is now 16 and is the sexiest cat anywhere. He puts up with two noisy ratties (both rescue dogs) and a stray grey cat I call "Lil Mick" who I took from a friend who cared for strays. Lil Mick was placed with a friend who promptly lost him less than three hours after she got him. He got out of her car 145 miles away. His story is a long and fascinating one, but suffice to say that he was found after six weeks and I got him back. Thank God for social media and kind and generous animal lovers!

Tux has taken him in with some resentment, but they get along because they understand that two vs. two is a better balance when vying for attention from "Mom." Tux is still in charge, but just cool enough to rule with a velvet panther paw and not ruffle any fur.

When people at work first learned Tux had gone home with me, they'd look surprised. "That smelly cat that leapt out at students from the bushes?" "That strange skinny fleabag?" Yes, that cat who cost me mucho in vet bills to make healthy and pest free... you have no idea what you overlooked, folks. He is devoted to my elderly mother who came to live with us three years ago. He's cuddly, intelligent, sweet and sexy! Black cats are the best!

Gayle Gerard
KEWANEE, IL

Hurricane Matthew

While shopping for food supplies, I saw the cutest kitten in front of the store. She was purring and circling my legs. I went into the store and in a loud voice, asked if this was someone’s kitten. Nobody responded.

So I finished grocery shopping, and the kitten was still in front of the store. I picked her up and put her on my shoulder and took her home.

I took her to my vet because she was spayed (could see stitches) and had an ear clipped. My vet said “she is microchipped and belongs to our local SPCA”. SPCA have a feral cat program and they didn’t want her back.

So Mattie has been my sweet cat since October 2016!

Kathy
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC

William

In 2006, a friend was in PetSmart when a woman approached her with a box full of kittens. The kittens had been left by the curb for the garbage pick up. The garbage man couldn't throw them away, so he carried the box of kittens to the woman, who was out in her front yard. They were small, too young to be away from their mother, so the woman had taken them to PetSmart, not knowing what else to do.

PetSmart couldn't help. At that moment, the woman found my friend, who took the box home & began feeding the babies with a syringe. The kittens came to work with her every day. Fortunately, we worked for a big orange warehouse. Management was understanding of the kittens need to be fed on a regular basis.

A number of us would take turns bottle feeding the babies during our break time. Having experience with bottle feeding before, I brought William home when he was (vet guess) two weeks old.

Today he is a happy 16 year old & my best ever boy!

Kathie Ingram
SANFORD, FL