by Lupe Gore

Feral Paws Rescue Group in Fresno will be sharing some of their animal rescue adventures with us now every month. Check out KRL’s article about Feral Paws to learn more about them. Lupe Gore is a FPRG volunteer.

Everyone loves kittens…that is, every cat lover loves kittens. So when there are kittens up for adoption at the shelter, usually they are adopted pretty quickly, unless they are black. Multi-color younger adults also have a good chance of finding a forever home. Adult blacks, especially if they are rather large, are the last to be adopted. Sadly, that is a fact.

Feral Paws Rescue received a call from the local shelter on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 to pick up some cats in need of rescue, and that call included picking up a large adult black male with a tipped ear. He was determined to be about four years old and he had been neutered. It seems with the tipped ear he had been part of a TNR (trap/neuter/release) program but somehow ended up at the shelter. This cat hadn’t even been entered into the computer at the shelter because he was “feral” and they had hastily assigned an ID # for him and released him. It turned out he wasn’t feral but very easily put into a carrier. He was delivered to his foster home and named Miercoles (Spanish for Wednesday).

When he got to his foster home, he quickly assimilated with the other cats and his new human. He wanted attention and wanted to be on that human’s lap and sleep on the bed. Needless to say, he became a “foster failure” in that he had found his forever home.

On October 30, 2016, Feral Paws Rescue received another call from the shelter and this time another large black male was to be picked up. Someone had given him the name “Catzilla” however he was renamed Julian after leaving the shelter. He is about two years old. He had been in the medical unit of the shelter where they said he was being treated for an abscess on his cheek. It turns out he was very large (15 lbs.), unneutered, and an appointment with the Rescue veterinarian (at which time he was neutered) revealed a polyp in his ear, but no signs of an abscess on his face. He is being periodically rechecked by the Rescue veterinarian for any complications with his ears.

Julian is a terrific cat. He is very gentle, quiet and a lover. He accompanies his foster human to work for his medical appointments, staying in the office with her. He loves attention, loves to be petted, and loves to roll over on his back for belly rubs. Needless to say, Julian also became a “foster failure”.

Both Julian and Miercoles wouldn’t be alive today if not for the intervention of Feral Paws Rescue and a foster home to put them in. They were deemed not adoptable by the shelter, had probably never had an indoor home, but being that they are big “man-cats,” they are so loving and special.

Learn more about Feral Paws on their website.

Check out more animal rescue stories in our Pet Perspective section. Advertise in KRL and 10% of your advertising fees can go to a local animal rescue.