An Unwanted Cat is Wanted Again
This is a little vignette of cat rescue life in the UK from Kays Hill Animal Sanctuary. It concerns a cat named Ash who has been rehomed and renamed Felix. He looks like the cartoon cat Felix. He also looks extremely content:
Leanne of Kays Hill says this about Felix:
I hope you don’t mind but we just got this pic back today from Ash’s new family. He was a young cat we had had in for quite a while, and just rehomed him at the weekend. I mentioned him on our Kays Hill page on PoC the other day.
I thought it was such a nice photo I could pass it onto you to put on PoC if that’s OK. He has been renamed Felix by the Bairns and on the photo he is lying down in front of a wood burning stove. As you can see, he is the definition of ‘contented cat’ and I hope you like it….Leanne
Isn’t it nice to see a cat rescued and placed in a new home with new caretakers looking relaxed and content?
This an the everyday occurrence in cat rescue. I believe the event should celebrated as much as the the behavior of cats who have caught the eye of the public for some reason. The cats that tend to get photographed and discussed in blogs and on websites are either glossy stunners or disadvantaged moggies. Let’s praise the average cat and the cat rescue charities for giving them a life.
Leah thankyou for the fiver you’ve transfered to our bank for Kays Hill, we’ll be converting it to cat food for them tomorrow
🙂
thank you leah, we really appreciate it, (so do the cats!)
I’m so pleased that felix is happy in his furever home. Rescue work as we all know is heart breaking and rewarding. I was lucky enough to exprience the rewarding part when I was in my 30’s volunteering for a recue visiting homed cats after a month although a couple of my visits were tinged with sadness because the cats weren’t happy and oddly I’ll never forget them I wanted to kidnap one cat to save her.
Most though on the whole had settled beautifully and it was just so wonderful to visit a home where you would see the cat curled up fast asleep on someones lap I remember going to one home and the cat was curled up on hubbys lap being gently stroked and hubby says ‘he my wifes cat you know? I don’t like cats actually’ I said ‘yes of course who are you trying to kid being all macho just look at you you love him as much!’ he just smiled and carried on stroking contented Kittie.
All I can say really is thank God for rescues like Kays Hill who work tirelessly day in day out under difficult circumstances to rescue and re-home sweet little cats like Felix. He is undoubtedly one of the lucky ones.
I think Babz had picked Ollie up for a cuddle the first time we saw her Leanne and you said why her people had got rid of her and see how vicious she is! lol
I think she would be totally miserable away from Kays Hill now, it’s her home and you’d all miss her too much anyway.
How lovely to see a happily rehomed cat, it must make the cold dark mornings with frozen feet and fingers a bit more bearable Leanne when you see the good you do at Kays Hill. I can never understand why people shun black and black & white cats, out of the 9 cats we’ve had since 1974 only three of them were “coloured” and their colour wasn’t the factor that made us want them, all cats are gorgeous and beautiful inside and out, and that dear little soul you mention Ollie, she’s lovely, I can’t think how anyone could willingly part with a 9-10 year old cat.
we always love to get lovely pics like this one back from new owners. even on as cold a day as today is, it gives you a warm feeling.
I’m glad Felix got a good home, I honestly don’t know how Leanne and Kevin do it, their rehoming is fantastic, even of hard to place cats like Gerty, I know one of these days they’ll find her and Marcus the purr-fect home together.
I love all cats including black cats and black and white cats, we must have hundreds of photos of our boyz and our cats of the past, I often browse through them having a few tears at missing them.
Ollie is gorgeous, we often see her when we go up to Kays Hill, how could anyone have not wanted her around!
apparently she was so aggrssive they were frightened to walk in the room where she was!! she was attacking them constantly and was far too savage to cope with. i can honestly say we have NEVER seen that sort of behaviour with Ollie, or anything remotely like it. however she can never be rehomed, her fan club would lynch me!! she enjoys her life prowling around the fields, getting cuddles and shoulder carries from anyone who will pick her up, if you dont pick her up a slight dig in the leg with her claws reminds you of your duty, if you still dont pick her up she will just jump into your arms and then climb onto your shoulder. she is a fantastic cat, we all love her.
THis is the whole thing that must make rescue incredibly motivating. It’s what we all wish for all the cats out there who are scared and alone. I was just discussing adopting a black cat who is a little older missing one eye who has been stuck in the local shelter where I lived in Slovenia for a long time now.. We got Lilly from there and later Nushka. Lilly was one of about 8 black cats there at the time and she had been there the longest. We couldn’t decide who to take so this was the logical way to make the choice. It was hard as they all were reaching thier little blakc arms out of the cages to try and touch us and they all seemed incredibly sweet and beautiful and it wasn’t possible to make a choice really. We always went for the less adoptable. We even took in kittens and bottle fed them because they were too stressed at the shelter and looking like they might die without special care at home. They are alive and well now living with my ex. They are like her children, and she is like their mother since they knew no cat mother. It’s incredible how much like children they are and just how much they love love their human mama.
No cat should have to suffer being unwanted and this story Felix is lovely – and happy little thing in a rather sad context – the good part and the reward for the work of the good people who help them.
thats just how all animals should be loved, completely and made to feel safe. its such a terrible shame that so many will never know love and compassion. we are always happy to help as many as we can. felix came to us when he was found out in the middle of no-where where he had obviously been dumped. the family who found him were on a bike ride and it was just luck that they spotted him in the hedgerow. in a very short time 7 kittens of varying ages were brought in to us and strangely they were all either black or black & white! all were healthy, friendly kittens, found dumped in out of the way places. some people can be so cruel. it worries us that there are more out there who hav’nt been lucky enough to be found in time. then of course is the ‘problem’ of being a black or b/w cat or kitten, some people love them and their colour is’nt a problem but some folks want something ‘prettier’. you tell me, is felix not an incredibly handsome young man? black or b/w cats, why are some people so colour prejudice?
I love the way Felix looks. I always wanted a black and white cat just like that until one day I got one. She is my Gigi and she looks almost identical from what I can tell in the photo above. I also have an all black cat who I brough to another country with me – I think she is beautiful. Infact black cats really are special in the way they look and to me that makes them valuable just the same as all the others. I can’t understand why people dont like black cats. Have you noticed how many people wear black clothes. I think people do because black is easier for them somehow – and yet perhaps those same people wouldn’t want a black cat in which case they are wearing the black clothes for the wrong reason too – out of fear fo sticking out or looking too bright maybe. I wish I coulld do a human social study to find out which are the humans who don’t like black cats. I bet its the ones with most problems in terms of the way they look at the world emotionally, egotistically and with the least compassion – obviously. It is sad because there are so many black cats and they are often very healthy. I have decided the partially blind cat in the shelter will be adopted by me if he must endure being in the shelter for too long with nobody who wants him. He has one eye and can only see a bit out of it, he’s all black and sweet as can be. I can’t let him sit there for months on end in a cage – he’s in another country but I already have experience getting one cat from there so it’s ok.
i’m so pleased you have decided to take him, he sounds like he needs a break in life, someone who will actually treat him well and give him the life he deserves. i’m sure we’ll be seeing him asap. i think sometimes people want to ‘show off’ their cat and some people dont seem to think that there is anything worth showing off about a black or b/w cat, are they maybe too boring to look at? i really dont know what it is for certain but we find it a lot, although there are people like yourself, and lots more besides of course, who think they are beautiful, rightly so, but surely, whatever the colour, all cats have their own beauty, one way or another. at this very moment i have a ginger queen, Ollie, sat on my shoulder, wanting a head rub, to get my attention she is rubbing against my glasses and knocking them sideways or off completely!! she is about 10 yrs old and has a bit of a cloudy eye, she has sight in it but we’re not sure just how much, it looks a bit odd but this dos’nt take away her beauty, anyone who knows Ollie loves her.
My friend who is over there just called the shelter and they say he is very sweet and loves to play a lot and they have only had him a little while. We have asked them to let us know if he gets adopted and we have said that if he is having a hard time or ends up being there too long then she will go and get him and then I will bring him here in due course after that. Fingers crossed somebody like us sees him and falls in love with him right away. That would be an ideal and encouraging thing. I won’t be pessimistic. I know the people at that shelter and they seem to really know each cat well by character and I believe they care enough to know if ‘Rocky’ (his name) starts to get depressed or unhappy then they will call my friend to go get him. He just had his operation and is doing great. We have gotten 5 cats from that shelter including my Lilly. 2 of them were foster kittens who needed bottle feeding round the clock. They were not doing well in the shelter environment and at risk of dying so we took them and after quite a bit of hard work and encouragement they picked up ob their eating and are now two beautiful cats, brother and sister, who think they are human 🙂 All cats are beautiful as you say and some of the most appreciative and warm hearted cats are the ones who must endure certain difficulties in their life such as blindness. It’s not about the reward, for me, its about the need to care – I just feel like I want and need to care. It’s a sort of natural impulse. I can’t believe people out there don’t have it. I know we all do. It seems a natural thing to me to react by wanting to stretch our your arms and help and care for animals, particularly ones in distress. The rewards I don’t even have to bother going into. We are lucky to be blessed with their trust and friendship and company. Thats the privilege you get for following you heart and caring. Personally it makes me feel very special to be accepted or loved and trusted by cat or tiny kitten. Its a big thing for them, we are huge 🙂
Anyway, Rocky will not be allowed to have a sad or lonely time any more than any of the cats at that shelter, If he is still in the room after the others around during his stay are adopted, so then will he be taken by us. I just want to make sure he gets the same deal as the others so I have agreed to it and the shelter know us so everything is going to be fine.
its good to know that whatever happens rocky will be cared for by someone who will love him, obviously the shelter care about him and will make sure the rest of his life is a happy one. please keep us updated on the outcome, whether he is with you or someone else, it’ll be good to know.i think we all know what we get out of animals being in our lives and the rewards are boundless.
I love the story because it is one cat that is where he/she should be. It is a simple story. There is no hype. And the internet craves hype. I prefer the average and simple.
thank you so much for making ash/felix ‘famous’ michael. he was such a lovely, friendly cat who was waiting for someone to give him the chance to prove what a fantastic family member he could be. his new family will be able to watch him grow and play and they will wonder how on earth they ever managed without him!! we were so glad to recieve this photo from them (with their permission to use the photo)he has obviously settled VERY well. i’m sure you’ll all agree he really is one contented cat. average cats rule!!!!
My pleasure Leanne. Felix looks very contented. I wish him the very best for the rest of his life. He looks a fit and well cat and handsome too.