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.

Shortly after President’s Day weekend this year, Feral Paws Rescue received an email from the local SPCA asking if they were interested in pulling another cat. This request was like so many others, a cat who was sick or injured and needed out of the shelter in order to survive. Of course Feral Paws Rescue pulled this cat. The cat had been picked up by Animal Control as a stray, had a large laceration on his nose, an incredibly huge abscess on one of his rear legs, yet the shelter did the minimum of treatment for him, mainly assigning him an ID number, and giving him the name Orange Julius on his paperwork.

Formerly Orange Julius

Upon release from the shelter, Feral Paws Rescue immediately took him to their Rescue Veterinarian who assessed his injuries, giving him multiple treatments for the abscess and the nose laceration, as well as neutering him. The healing process then began. He was kept at the main rescue for months until he was well enough to be adopted. Then a miracle came for him in mid-July. On Wednesday, July 19, Feral Paws Rescue received a request for a huge, friendly male cat who was orange and that night Orange Julius became Donald and found his forever home.

Donald must share that home with several others cats—blacks, whites and calicos—most of whom are adults and some kittens, all rescues and mostly through Feral Paws Rescue from the kill-shelters. Donald immediately made himself at home, so very, very grateful for nice place to live and love. His life on the streets was over as he was now to become an indoor-only cat, have all the food he wanted, whenever he wanted, and soft beds to sleep on.

Donald

Now, nothing has ever been easy for Donald, and even in his new home, there were the detractors. Other adult cats hissed at him or wanted to pick on him, probably because he was the only orange one, but he took it all in stride and over time they have welcomed him. As for the kittens in his new residence? Well, they come up to him to snuggle and to be bathed ,and if he senses another adult cat may be a threat to them (which no one is), he builds a “wall” around them, shielding them. Donald loves the kittens. Donald also loves something else—Mexican food! He looks forward to sharing his human’s tostada compuestas and burritos from a nearby restaurant.

If only all cats were as fortunate as Donald has been, despite the injuries he went into the shelter with, for him the outcome as been incredible. He probably never imagined where he would be today, and he wouldn’t be if not for Feral Paws Rescue and their fantastic veterinarian who saved his life.

And now as we wake up on this sunny November morning, there is one Donald who will be President and this Donald who continues to be “Purresident” of his household!

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.