A elderly lady who decided that she was no longer able to care for her five-year-old cat, Suzie, wanted to pass on her experiences to the new owner who was at that time unknown. It was a “To Whom It May Concern” sort of letter detailing Suzie’s character and life story in brief.
As it happens her son took charge of Suzie and handed her over to the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center where she is currently looking for a new home.
Suzie is timid. On her cage at the shelter are the words, “WILL BOLT”. But she is also described as very sweet and shy.
The lady who wrote the letter (we don’t have her name) explained that Suzie is an indoor cat by choice. At one time, early in her life, she went walkabout outside for four days. On the fourth night there was thunder. In the morning the lady called for her and she came running in. She has not left since.
The lady tried to get her to go outside without success. On reason is her timidity and the thunderstorm but another is that Suzie was close to her caretaker who was unable to leave her front porch due being unsteady on her feet.
It seems that Suzie wouldn’t go outside properly unless it was with the elderly lady but she was unable to walk far. Both lived in and around (the porch) the house.
I think it is a nice idea to write this sort of letter to a new caretaker/guardian. It demonstrates a caring nature and it will help the adopter to understand her new cat companion better. That can only be a good thing.
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I’ve had care letters from several previous owners and I’ve kept in touch with some previous owners until the cat in question passed away. I regularly send photos of my current trio to the daughter of their previous owner and she prints some out to put on his grave with flowers (some photos went in his coffin).
Out of 3 indoor cats, one uses me as a B&B in good weather (it’s a different story when the weather is wet or cold and he gets all snuggly). One pops in & out during the day as the novelty still hasn’t worn off. The oldest prefers to stay indoors – preferably on my lap. All come running when I arrive back from work!
You are a mother to any stray cat. Nice to know that you have received letters from previous owners. This is fairly unusual, it seems to me. I could be wrong though.
Sarah, that’s so lovely that you keep in touch with the families of some of the cats you’ve adopted. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never had to surrender any of my cats, but I can’t imagine how much that must hurt when circumstances mean we can no longer care for them ourselves. To know that they’ve gone to a loving home, where they are happy and safe, must bring a lot of comfort to their former owners.
Sarah is a great cat lover. They come to her 😉
I think it’s a wonderful example of what I would hope from any loving guardian who must give up her pet for any number of reasons.
I wrote up a bio of my cat Mitzy, when I had to take her to the vet for her first health issues last year.
I thought it was important for the vet to know her background.
The vet glanced at it briefly, but didn’t take it for the file. After a couple more visits, I decided to change vets to help with continuing problems.
I had written down a detailed description of what the other vet had done, the food she was eating, medicines she was taking, and other details that I thought would be helpful. As the vet asked me questions, I was able to answer by just looking at this description. It was a stabilizer for me, at a very emotional point when I thought I might have to put her down.
As it turned out, the drugs that this new vet gave, caused extreme reactions.
That was several months ago, and it took me on a path of research and discovery that was shocking. Since that time, I’ve become a “cat advocate”, sharing the information that I learned.
I continue to keep calendar notes about Mitzy’s diet, appetite, stool appearance, and anything unusual about her behavior. I know exactly what she’s eaten, since she’s an indoor cat, and nothing is left on the floor or any place she could get to that would be harmful to her.
Since feeding her a raw diet the last couple of months, I’ve seen major improvement in her elimination problems, her coat, her weight, and overall appearance.
I do have a concern about her if something were to happen to me. She was a feral, and still seems wild at heart. I don’t think she would be adoptable, which is what I was told by the shelter before I rescued her. She is very bonded to me, but is wary of other people, even my few friends. I try not to think of this, but sometimes it comes to mind.
My Monty is also an ex-feral and the same thoughts have occurred to me. But he does like my sister, who lives upstairs, and he tolerates our friend Melanie. Most other people frighten him. He will act aggressively, hissing and growling, but he is actually afraid. I know he is because he will snuggle next to me when people are here and my perception is that he needs me to protect him and that he is terrified.
Ruth, Thanks for sharing that.
This is the first experience I’ve had with a feral. My other cats were all socialized as kittens, and very mellow. So, this is a very different experience. We’ve been together over 3 years.
I’m glad that your sister could probably take over if needed. That’s some consolation.