From my very dear friend, T1D Gayle and her wonderful husband, Glen … and their beautiful fur babies … thanks Gayle for sharing!!!

We feel so blessed to have our two fur babes in our lives. We often say, “they let us live with them”. 😻

Over a year ago our Mr. Wiley (Golden Long Hair in photo below) was diagnosed with an aggressive tongue cancer during his teeth cleaning. We immediately took our boy to a cat oncologist. After a thorough examination, the vet said, “it’s rare that I say this but there’s no radiation, chemo treatment or surgery for Wiley…he only has days left.” We were in shock and said goodbye to our beautiful boy. We were emotionally devastated as was our other cat, Bella.  She walked throughout the house, from room to room, crying out loudly for Wiley.

So, my story continues…as the Volunteer Coordinator with the Peter Zippi (PZ) Memorial Fund for Animals, a no-kill rescue and adoption agency, I meet new cats and kittens often.

A kind woman brought in an abandoned cat that was living under her porch. She fed the cat and brought him to our clinic to see if he had a microchip. He did, however, that person was no longer at that address and the phone was disconnected. This cat was emaciated and in desperate need of nutrients, a teeth cleaning and root canal procedure to save a major tooth. PZ provided all medical interventions and then he was put up for adoption.

He was 11 years old! Many of us at PZ fell in love with him, as we often do with our charges. Glen and I decided to Foster-to-Adopt him. Our only criteria being that he and our Bella (a 10 yr.old, female Tuxedo “Kitten”) get along.

It took this boy almost 3 months to come out of his room due to PTSD and begin exploring our home and Bella. It was clear within a day that he had found his forever home.

He and our precious Bella hit it off. Bella is a greatly confident cat, playful, smart, and friendly with people and clearly other cats. This helped tremendously to pull this boy out of his fear.

We named our boy Sir Oliver. We are all beyond happy being together. 😻

During my lifelong T1D, I have always felt blessed to have cats and/or a dog by my side. I genuinely believe that this has provided a tremendous bonus to my immune system and general happiness.

My husband and I both feel fortunate to have Bella and Sir Oliver in our lives; they are life-giving!  😻

Bella and Sir Oliver getting to know each other              Sir Oliver (Oli) and Bella cuddling

Our mini panther, Sir Oliver, after living with us for 3 months and gaining 4 lbs!

Bella and Mr. Wiley (before cancer diagnosis). They were inseparable

Sunning together; they often switch steps with one another

What are some mind-blowing facts about cats? was written by Modi Ramos for Quora.com, 9 March 2020. Cats are pretty awesome little beings. Not only are they the #1 watched subject on the internet, but cats can be beneficial to your health in a number of ways!

Do you call yourself a cat connoisseur? Then let’s test your knowledge on cat facts with this collection of 60 cool facts about cats. (I’ve only included a few facts … the full document is available below)

1. 1. Your cat sleeps an average of 12-16 hours per day, every single day. You know what this means? Roughly 70% of their entire lives are spent asleep!
   2. A group of cats is technically referred to as a “clowder”.
   3. Turns out tigers and domesticated cats share a common trait: the backwards pointing spikes on their tongue known as papillae, AKA barbs, are used for gripping and pulling off meat.
   4. Grooming isn’t just a method to keep themselves clean or to relax. Your cat also grooms themselves as a means to cool themselves off through evaporation.
   5. Your cat’s hearing is 5x superior to yours, and the best of any domesticated animal.

Read more: 

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin

Email