Happy Anniversary Sealy!

By Elisa Black-Taylor

This past weekend we celebrated Sealy’s one year rescue anniversary. He and 250 online friends joined us for a day of catnip and treats. It’s hard to believe he’s been with us a year now. It’s even more difficult to believe he’s lived through everything he has to become the sweet, affectionate cat he is today(when he wants to be!).

Sealy was rescued on February 24, 2012 from the euthanasia list for the shelter in Greenville, SC. He was listed as having a large gash in his head caused by a fan blade injury. Sealy had a friend named Tank with him at the time of the accident, but unfortunately Tank died at the shelter from complications.

Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

Sealy 2013. Collage by Elisa.

I can still remember the frightened little kitty we brought home that day. He moved slowly and rarely took his eyes off of us those first few months. Unless he was eating… Sealy is very well known these days for his appetite.

Sealy underwent two operations to close the large gash in his head after treatment failed. We’d tried everything from antibiotics to herbal remedies to bandaging his paws so his claws wouldn’t scratch his injury. Unfortunately the surgery also was a failure. What DID eventually heal Sealy was a product recommended by diabetic cat expert Megan Hamilton called Buck Mountain Wound Balm. This product is around $30 a jar, but it worked what I’d call a miracle.

Sealy has exceeded every expectation we had for him. He turned into a lap cat after seven months of laying either in his healing cage or on the couch. It was a real surprise the first time he walked across the couch and plopped down in my lap for a nap. Sealy also learned to play in late November. He loves to lay on his back and use his paws to bat at our fingers. I’d never EVER dreamed he’d be the type of cat to play.

Sealy has a lot of supporters keeping up with his life as a spoiled cat. Both on PoC and on Facebook. I’ve written quite a few stories about him and he continues to amaze those who follow him. In the beginning, everyone wanted to know what happened to his head. People who didn’t know his story thought he was a victim of animal cruelty. They couldn’t believe he’d survived a car fan blade accident because most cats are killed in this type of accident.

Then we were turned into animal control by PETA for having a severely injured cat. It’s still difficult to grasp that someone wanted Sealy dead for being an injured cat. Sealy was our bright spot in the nightmare that was 2012. Not only did Sealy have to endure the investigation, but we also had a house fire where we sustained a lot of smoke damage. It wasn’t a good year for us.

Sealy first held everyone’s interest as they watched his head wound heal. Then as he learned to play and be a lap cat. Lately the interest has been in the new outfits Sealy tends to sport in most of his photos. We discovered Sealys love of clothes by accident. It was cold one night and Laura put one of Cujo’s (our cat-dog) outfits on Sealy. We watched in shock as he curled up, went to sleep, and missed his late night feeding. We don’t know for certain he’s cold. We only know he sleeps much deeper and longer in his little outfits. Now his online friends tend to check in to see what he’s wearing.

I hope the past year has shown cat lover’s how much love can accomplish. And in how much spirit and determination an injured cat has. People tell us that we saved Sealy. Sealy saved himself. He never gave up, never stopped eating and drinking.

His personality is a bit strange, part of which I imagine is from the brain damage the vet believes he suffered at the time of the accident. Sealy doesn’t come when we say his name. In fact, he usually just walks on by us. He won’t look at us when we pick him up and look into his eyes. He doesn’t meow unless he wants out of a room or he’s hunting someone. He has a very loud meow when he wants to show off. Sealy does show his love on his own terms. At night he’ll go into Laura’s room and jump on her shoulder. This is Sealy telling Laura to lift her covers and he get’s under them to sleep where it’s the warmest. He also has to check out the food we eat to see if anything is worth his time to eat.

Sealy has also made friends with several of our cats. His best friend is our little Cujo. They sleep together more often than not. We, as well as Sealy’s vet, believe Sealy is much older than the two years the shelter had on his paperwork. He continues to grow in more white hair on his face, and he sleeps more these days. In the beginning, he either was in pain or not comfortable enough to sleep as deeply as he does now. When Laura gets up for the day, Sealy runs between her and his feeding cage until his food is put down for him.

We continue to spread the word about car fan blade dangers and cats. And Sealy reluctantly poses for photos several times a week. His cage days are over, except he prefers his meals in there. It’s nice to report he even HAD a first anniversary in his forever home. We’re very fortunate to have him with us. Sealy has taught us that with love anything is possible.

Thank you all for supporting us and for supporting Sealy.

Elisa