From Leanne – Kays Hill Animal Sanctuary
An old black and white cat came to us through Silke, our vet. He had been found wandering the streets, very distressed. Some kind soul realised he needed help, so picked him up and took him to the vet.
When he was checked they realised that he had been microchipped. ‘Hooray, he can go home’ – unfortunately not! The ‘gentleman’ who he had lived with all his life, had, a week or so before, given his daughter his cat and the money to take him to the vet to be put to sleep (PTS).
The reason? Simple; he didn’t want him any more. However, the daughter had decided the money would be better in her pocket, so callously abandoned him in an area he didn’t know. He had been wandering the streets for over a week and was tired and terrified, but at least now he was safe.
No doubt it came as a bit of a shock to him to go off to sleep one day soon afterwards and then wake up to find two very important bits of him missing!!
We got a phone call to tell us about this poor cat, who was at least ten years old who had been abandoned so heartlessly by the very person he should have been safe with. ‘Could we possibly take him?’ Of course we could. We called him Marcus. We soon realised what a kind, friendly soul he is.
Marcus loves a cuddle and a fuss and doesn’t have a bad bone in his body. We decided to try him in with Gerty, just to see if that would help her nervousness. It did, to some extent. He was so kind and gentle with her. If she wanted his food there was no grumbling or complaining he would quietly move to the other bowl and let her have his food.
He would curl up with her as if to offer reassurance when she was scared. He doesn’t play with toys but sniffs at them but put a treat in his bowl and loves it!! He has become a bit of a chunk to be honest, but Marcus doesn’t feel the need to run about and do anything energetic, leave that to those young cats.
When Gerty had to be PTS, recently, he grieved for his little friend. We tried him in with Prince for company, which worked for a time, but then Prince started to become a bit of a bully so now Marcus is living with Meg, a nervous cat who has only been with us for a week. We thought as he had done so well with Gerty he could try his magic on Meg. He wants to be friends with her, but for now she doesn’t want to know.
However time has run out for Meg to become friends with Marcus, as, finally, Marcus is going home!! His new family are picking him up tomorrow (1st March) to go and be a much loved member of their cat family. He will have 3 other cats to be friends with – Sammy, Mickey and Yoyo.
Marcus is one of those cats that I’m going to be really sad to see go. Of course we are over the moon that finally he will have his own home but he will be missed. His lovely, smiley face, his big hefty purring and the cuddles you get from him as he rubs his head against your hand, chin, leg, anything at all he comes into contact with!!
To see him go off to his new home tomorrow will be fantastic. After all he has been through and all he has done for the cats in his care he deserves the best. Good luck Marcus, we’ll miss you but I know we will hear about your future adventures.
Leanne
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I agree with Ruth’s comment and my only other thoughts are to provide more litter trays, I think one per cat and one extra is the recommended number, in various safe places around the house and to try different types of litter, e.g clay, fine, woodbased or even earth, the poor lad has had a lot of changes in his life so is sure to be confused, I’m glad his new family are kind and understanding and not about to bring him back to KH.
I wonder where abouts they have put his litter tray? As he was used to being in an enclosed space at KH to use it, he may need somewhere private where he feels safe, such as under the stairs or behind a large bit of furniture.
He’s obviously a bit stressed with his new home on top of losing his old one, straying around, losing his best pal Gerty. They need to be very patient with him, no shouting, when he goes to use anywhere but his litter tray they need to pick him up and gently place him in his litter tray. When he uses it they need to praise him, saying his name every time, such as GOOD BOY MARCUS. With a bit of time and patience I’m sure he will realise he gets praised for going in the right place and he will go there himself …I hope ……
since moving to his new home, marcus has settled in quite well and is laying claim to all the best spots. however, he is not using the litter tray at all. as there are now four cats in the household, the existing three go outside as well as using the trays, his new family have put out another tray to make sure he is not been kept away from using them. marcus unfortunately is going anywhere but in the tray. all the time he has been with us he has used his tray, even when sharing with another cat. obviously it is all very new to him and his family are not about to give up on him but we could do with some ideas on how to help him. if anyone has any suggestions we’d love to hear them. other than that marcus is settling in well. thank you in advance.
Oh I’m so glad Marcus has a home,I don’t know how anyone could part with their cat like that rotten chap and his uncaring cruel daughter.
It makes me mad when people blame allergies for getting rid of their cats but I have to admit I’ve never heard of a dog allergic to a rabbit before lol
I love your stories Leanne,keep them coming please.
What a beautiful cat I can’t imagine why anyone would want to give him up 🙁 I feel so sorry for him wandering the streets 🙁
I am glad though that he has found his furrever home now 🙂
just thought you might like to know we have got the new rabbit in and genuinely the dog is allergic to him!! it was the rabbit that was new and the dog has been very poorly ever since. the people were really upset about having to give him up. he has come with all his belongings and a generous donation. that’ll teach me not to judge people too rashly. he is called harvey and is as cute as a button. just had word about marcus too, he has found the best seat in the house and won’t let anyone else in it, human or feline. there has been a small amount of hissing from all cats (marcus included!!) but nothing major to worry about. so all is looking good at the moment.
So many people use an allergy as an excuse to dump their cat Leanne, I don’t blame you for not believing it at first, I wouldn’t have either.
Marcus sounds to be settling in, has the best seat in the house lol I hope the hisses will soon pass, will look forward to hearing how it’s all going in a while.
allergies and uncaring landlords are the ‘fashionable’ reasons for getting rid of an unwanted animal it seems. there are genuine cases of course but most just ‘want rid’
it was left with the vets to see to marc, as he was taken into them originally. it seems that up to that point, he had been decently cared for, as he was actually in good condition, physically. who knows how some peoples minds work, i’ll never understand people. we are getting a rabbit in today because their new dog is allergic to him! it makes a change from the kids been allergic i suppose. lol
marcus went off to his new home yesterday.i gave him a BIG cuddle and told him to be good. not that he ever would be anything other than good, he really is an angel. so hopefully his new cat pals will be ok with him and all will go smoothly. his new family will keep us informed of whats going on and i’ll let you all know. they are thinking that marcus and mickey will hit it off especially well. fingers x’d!!
O yes please Leanne – I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say it would be great if you let us know in a little while how he is and how its going with hisnew family. He looks lovely and sweet. How could anybody do that to him. Are any charges being pressed against the daughter for cruelty? It would seem you have enough evidence to get he in alot of trouble.
Marcus looks like he is a lovely cat with a great character. Pleased he has a home to go to. I hope it is a really good one.
So glad Marcus has a home to go to for the rest of his life to be safe and loved, he deserves every bit of happiness because he was so kind to Gertie, it just wasn’t to be that they should go somewhere together. Well done once again to Kays HIll for saving his life, you tell a lovely story Leanne. Bon Voyage Marcus, be happy.
A cat rescue story with a fine ending but the beginning is horrible. It is about two people who behaved irresponsibly and cruelly in respect of a charming domestic cat. It makes me wince to think how badly father and daughter behaved between them. Then along comes the goodies to mop up the mess. Well done Kays Hill.
from what we could find out marcus’ previous home just had gotten tired of him. as we all know, animals are disposable (to some), so this man maybe thought he had had marcus for ten years and more, time for something new? who knows. what we do know is that when silke told the man she had his cat his reply was ‘i’ve already got rid of the thing, i dont want it back’!! marcuslthough ‘entire’ at the time was a lovely big healthy cat, there were no reasons i can see why anyone would’nt want him. anyone who has shared one of his cuddles would say the same i’m sure. yes, you know what i’m like ruth, tears will fall waving marcus off to his new life, but i know it’ll be a good life where he will be loved and taken care of. the couple who are taking him are actually two of our fundraising volunteers, they have always loved marcus but things wer’nt right till now for them to be able to take him home. as you say, it was all meant to be. we wish more people would be willing to take older cats home too.
What a lovely story Leanne, I didn’t know Marcus story until now, just that he and Gerty became best friends.
I’m so glad he has a home now, isn’t it strange how things work out, it wasn’t meant to be for him and Gerty to be rehomed together, he came to you to make her last few months happier and now he has his reward.
Silly thing I am sitting crying, you tell these true stories which really touch me as they show just how much you care about each and every resident at Kays Hill.
I can imagine you shedding tears today as Marcus goes to his new home, feeling sad you won’t see him again, but happy on his behalf.
xx
You all know I’m a sucker for the big guys! I have already decided that when I can adopt again I will try to adopt cats that are ‘over the hill’ and not likely to get adopted. I love older cats. I’m going to keep three at a time. When one passes, I’ll just go and replace them. It’s the only way I feel I can serve the species that has brought me so much too my life. I see on our local Humane Society tv show that the older cats (5+) often go un-adopted. They practically give the away. Five is just when they are broken in right!
I wonder why he decided to have him taken in? Maybe his wife passed and the cat reminded him of her. Maybe he knew he’d not outlive the beast! Who knows… Good luck Marcus at your new furever home!!!!