Cat Picture gallery - Smokey

by Courtney
(St. Louis, MO, USA)

Smokey!!

About two months ago, I took in a very sweet and loving 1yr/8mo old stray unneutered male kitty (Smokey) that had been fending for himself in my apartment complex. My ex-boyfriend and I had been feeding him and giving him attention but were reluctant to bring him in since we already had four kitties and lived in a one-bedroom apartment.

However, one day as we were getting in the car we saw Smokey limping on three legs, and holding his right paw up off the ground. We took a look at his paw and saw that he had a really bad abscess above his paw that was bleeding and very swollen. We brought him in and kept him separated from our other kitties until we could try to get him some help the next day. We went to the local animal shelter, hoping they would fix him up and find him a home, but we were told to go to a different organization due to the jurisdiction we lived in. When we arrived at the other shelter, I told the receptionist Smokey's name, history, and how sweet he is. She did not seem to care about this stuff, and I was confused and didn't know what was going on. Another lady came out and took Smokey in his carrier and said she'd be back with the carrier. My ex-boyfriend and I asked where she was taking Smokey, and the lady at the desk said she was taking him to be euthanized since they did not have the resources to treat his abscess. We were shocked and told her to bring Smokey back out to us immediately, and luckily the lady brought him back out.

Anyway, we ended up taking him back home, making an appointment with the vet, and getting him all fixed up--abscess treated, shots, tests, treated for worms, and neutered. Two months and $500 later =), he is now doing very well and is not interested at all in going outdoors. My boyfriend and I broke up, and I moved out of state with Smokey and one of our female cats, who I have always been very close to.

Both cats are adjusting very well to their new environment overall, and as I said Smokey is happy being an indoor kitty. He has stopped spraying and has slowly gotten used to using the litter box on a consistent basis.

Every time I look at Smokey, I think of all he had to go through in his first year and a half of life, and how he came so close to not making it. Sometimes I struggle a little bit with feelings of guilt for not taking him in sooner, but mostly I am just so grateful to have him in my home and in my life. He is such a special guy with so much to offer, and it scares me to think of what could have happened to him when he lived outdoors and his fate had been up in the air and that for a moment when he was taken into the room at the shelter to be euthanized, his fate had been decided and life almost ended just because he was injured and therefore unadoptable. Obviously, that would have been unfair to Smokey, who had been abandoned by humans and had had to fight so hard his first year and a half to survive alone outdoors, while still succeeding in maintaining such a sweet, gentle, and loving attitude toward the humans he encountered in the apartment complex who actually stopped to pet him. It also would have been a huge loss for me, because I never would have gotten to experience all the love that Smokey gives me on a daily basis.

I think people could learn a lot from Smokey...Usually if something bad happens to one of us humans, we not only carry a grudge about the individual that wronged us, but also we make generalizations about whole groups of people and stop trusting them based on our negative experiences. Smokey, on the other hand, whose experience with humans from a very young age has been characterized by people who have devalued him, abandoned him, and given up on him, still trusts people and is not scared of them. It says a great deal about his character that he has been treated so badly by humans, yet totally trusts me and gives me so much love.

Smokey has also taught me a great deal about perseverence and faith. When I came out of the shelter with Smokey in the carrier and packed him up in the car, I was so grateful for his second chance and knew that I was not letting go of that little guy. It also made me aware of all the chances Smokey had been willing to give humans, regardless of how they have treated him, until he finally found his new home and family. He never gave up on himself, on people, or on the possibility that he could have a happy life.

So here's to Smokey!!! =)