The ASPCA estimates that 6.3 million animals enter shelters each year. Of that number, 3.2 million are cats. A large number of those animals don’t make it out of a shelter and are euthanized. When we rescue an animal – whether a cat or dog – the animal never forgets who rescued him or her, and the human’s life is changes forever.
All five of the cats I’ve had the pleasure of sharing my house with were “rescues,” although only two had spent time in a shelter. The other two were strays and Clio, the cat who dramatically changed my life and is the subject of a book I am writing, was the runt of the litter who no one wanted and almost ended up in a shelter. All five inspired me, challenged me to be a better person, and never forgot that I was the one who rescued them.
There are many websites devoted to cat rescue, but I’d like to point out one – Lola the Rescued Cat (www.lolatherescuedcat.com). Managed by Lola, a cat who was rescued from a dumpster in East Harlem, New York, and her sister Lexy (and overseen by their human mother, Dawn), this award-winning site features valuable educational information for cat parents, information about various products for cats, and of course, cat rescue stories designed to inspire others to adopt shelter pets.
There are several rescue stories on the site, and I’m happy to say that four of my stories (about all five of the cats I’ve been privileged to adopt), have been published on the site. My most recent one is about Clio’s adoptive brother, Dickens, who never forgot that I rescued him. Check out https://www.lolatherescuedcat.com/2022/01/rescue-stories-dickens-he-never-forgot.html#more.
And if you want to read more about my other “rescue cats” (Trixie, Benny, Jackson, and Clio), go to Lola’s site using these links:
Read about Trixie – https://www.lolatherescuedcat.com/search/label/Rescue%20Stories?max-results=9
Read about Benny & Jackson – https://www.lolatherescuedcat.com/search/label/Rescue%20Stories?max-results=9
Read about Clio – https://www.lolatherescuedcat.com/search/label/Rescue%20Stories
What I hope everyone will learn from these stories is that I am not the “hero” of these stories. All of them made my life richer and rescued me. They are the true heroes of these stories, and I hope you will consider rescuing a shelter cat.
