Vincent and his close friend Torti are to be rehomed together at a very large animal sanctuary that is under construction and which will be managed by Humane Society of Louisiana. It will be Louisiana’s largest no-kill facility. The cats will be adopted by the sanctuary probably early next week. I presume some facilities are already in place. The sanctuary will be a permanent home for Vincent and Torti.
For visitors who don’t know Vincent, Ruth reported on him a long time ago as a cat that was pretty well untouchable partly at least because he had been declawed. He looked mean and unhappy (see photo bottom-right in collage above). At the time he was at a cat rescue center called Zeus’ Place that is located is New Orleans (LA 70115). He is still there and will be transferred out. While at Zeus’ Place he has been well treated spending some time at the shelter director’s (Michelle) home . You can see pictures of him there, in the collage.
The Human Society’s new sanctuary is on a grand scale. The site is 47 acres. Their original shelter/sanctuary was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. As I understand it, semi-permanent facilities were built afterward at Tylertown, Mississippi, and they now have the opportunity to return to Louisiana and create something special.
It will be called Enoch J. Donaldson Animal Sanctuary. It is based in an area called Mt. Hermon (Hwy. 1055 near the intersection with Hwy. 438 on the east side of Mt. Hermon).
This is the good news. I would like to thank Jo SInger for constantly updating me on the saga of rehoming Vincent and his partner Torti. Despite the best efforts of Jo and the shelter staff there were at least two aborted private adoptions. These would have placed Vincent and Torti in a person’s home. This would have been preferable. However, it was not to be. I am little bit sad about that but nothing should be taken away from the efforts of people involved in caring and fighting for these apparently unwanted cats.
Vincent is a very obese orange tabby cat with a bit of white fur. He was described as follows (and still is on the Petfinder site):
If you taste in cats is to look, but not touch, then Vincent is for you. Vincent enjoys the company of humans and cats, but does not want to be held or touched. He is declawed in the front and….
Combine that with the excessive obesity and you have a cat that is not going to be easy to adopt. I suppose this is why he going to a sanctuary. I don’t know why he is obese. It may partly be because he is inactive which in turn maybe because he is hurting from the declawing. I still think it would be wise to have his paws checked out by a vet to see if there is something in the paws causing causing pain. Complications of the declawing operation are not uncommon.
PoC promised a $300 staged (staggered) donation to anyone who would adopt Vincent. That donation will now go to the Humane Society of Louisiana to help in a small way to create what I hope will be a beautiful sanctuary for our Vincent and his close companion, Torti.
I wish them the best of luck for the New Year and for the rest of their lives.
I’m pleased too that Vincent won’t be caged any longer and that he with his friend is going to be in a settled place even though it’s not a home of their very own.
Yes, it is the next best thing and it is at least a decent life. There must be hundreds of thousands of cats like Vincent and Torti who don’t make it.
Sounds wonderful for both of them.
The adjustment period may be a little longer than some, since Vincent has been at Zeus’ so long. So happy both will be together.
I’m just relieved that Vincent won’t be spending any more time in a cage, he looked so miserable in that photo I saw of him sitting in a cage every time I visited that site for statistics for Jean Hofve.
I’m so happy that he has Torti as a friend and that they are both loved and will be together always, a happy ending to a very long story 🙂
Totally agree Ruth. It has to be a substantial positive step. I hope Vincent and Torti settle in nicely. Vincent deserves some nice times as does Torti and they both have each other which is always a good thing and it should help with settling in.
So glad that Vincent and Torti will be together and the sanctuary sound like a lovely place, it is a shame that they aren’t going to have a home and hearth to themselves and a(wide) lap to lie on together but I’m sure the carers at the sanctuary will love them and look after them well, it’s good that they’ll be able to get outdoors and get some sun on their backs and roll in the grass, I only hope Vincent isn’t in pain with his poor paws. This has been a long journey and it’s not quite over yet, Ruth has worried about Vincent for years, I’m glad she never forgot him because through her alongside Michael and Jo in a wonderful joint effort with Zeus’s Place it’s looking like a happy ever after might be possible for Vincent and Torti. It’s a lovely idea to give the donation to the sanctuary Michael.
Vincent is a very special kitty- and loved deeply by Michelle and all the folks that work and volunteer at Zeus’s Place. Michael is correct in that Vincent is a cat that is very difficult to place in a typical home environment. Over the past months trying to get Vincent and Torti placed in a home was, for all of us involved, a roller-coaster ride- feeling the joy when it looked like they would be placed in a home, to the bitter disappointment when these placements didn’t work out.
But at the very least, both of these kitties will never be separated- they are joined at the hip, in fact. They will live out the rest of their days at this new Sanctuary and will have the freedom of a protected indoor-outdoor arrangement where they will be safe, but able to enjoy the sunshine and a romp in the grass together. They will have the company of other cats and kittens which they greatly enjoy.
We will keep you updated on their progress, and hopefully have some new photos in the near future. These two kitties certainly have a place in my heart- and I am happy that they will be safe and sound. I would like to suggest to the Sanctuary owner that Vincent’s feet be x-rayed in order to learn if his paws are hurting him. If so, perhaps we can all get involved in having his paws fixed so he can play and romp without any pain- which would help him lose those debilitating pounds safely. Thanks for the update Michael.
Update from Michelle (owner of the rescue center where Vincent is now) via Jo Singer: