NEW JERSEY, USA: A battle-scarred, blind street cat has been given a home. This chonky male tabby has been renamed Floyd Mayweather after the boxer by his forever human companion and caregiver. He has found warmth and love in stark contrast to his life on the street where he became blind due to constant fights. One of his eyes were sunken and the corneas of both eyes were badly scarred. Floyd was spotted by a team of volunteers doing TNR work in the community.
Jade Vazquez, TNR director for the nonprofit Neighbourhood Cats, was working with a colony of community cats last spring when she thought that there was something wrong with Pickles, as it was then called. He was crying which is unusual for a feral cat and he bumped into a lamppost and stunned himself. She had difficulty in trapping him but eventually succeeded by placing the trap in a position where he couldn’t avoid it.
She decided that it would be inhumane to return Pickles to the street because of his blindness so he lived with her for five weeks during veterinary treatment. The nonprofit was successful in crowdfunding for his care. It was noticeable that he had a nice character. He was docile and friendly. She said that once you touched him he would let you pet him. But she couldn’t rush in and grab him because that made him defensive. It was clear that he is a very pleasant cat.
He looks like a classic tomcat with a jowly face, beat up appearance and of course his eyes confirm his blindness. Melissa Fiore, a 45-year-old paralegal, fell for him. She describes him as a “slow-moving teddy bear”. She wasn’t looking to adopt another cat because she had three rescue cats already from the nonprofit Pet Adoption Network, for which she volunteers. However, she felt that she had to adopt him and renamed him, as mentioned, Floyd Mayweather, and the adoption has worked out really well.
Floyd has become best friends with her resident beat up tomcat, Sugar Ray Leonard, named after another boxer. When he first came to Melissa he had to stay in a cage for a while while he was treated for a urinary tract infection. Sugar Ray rested outside keeping him company. They are now best buddies lounging and snoozing together, finding the sun as it travels through the house. Floyd has put on some weight and he gets along with the other cats.
Vazquez says that he’s the friendliest cat in her home. She said, “He’s my best friend”. Comment: he has that appearance, that classic beat up tomcat, battered appearance, which people warm to. He attracts help. You know how hard it has been for him on the street and it seems that his blindness has been caused by fighting. It wouldn’t surprise me because sometimes these tomcat fights are incredibly fierce and they can, in extreme, situations cause death. Frequently the ears are badly damaged but in this case it seems that he lost his sight yet still managed to hang on to life until rescued by these great women volunteers. They are so impressive as is the chunky man himself, Floyd Mayweather.
