In the middle of March we welcomed this distinguished older gentleman in need of a new name. The attached picture is of "Kitty Baby", his intake photo from Animal Control. Kitty Baby was surrendered by his owner to Minneapolis Animal Control and the owner requested the cat be euthanized. Kitty is age 13.
"Kitty Baby A369338 – 13yr, MN DSH – Kitty Baby was owner surrendered to the shelter on 1/24/24. The owner had requested euthanasia due to vomiting and not eating for 4 days. Since coming here we have not observed any vomiting, and he has eaten small amounts of canned food. Bloodwork showed mild ALT elevation and urinalysis showed cystitis. We have not identified a cause for clinical signs noted in the home and based on our exam Kitty Baby appears to be in good condition. However, he is very unhappy in the shelter.
Because of his medical concerns and his inability to adjust to shelter life, he has a deadline to be tagged by Monday, February 5th or will be humanely euthanized."
He was tried in a foster home, but the first situation was a bust when Kitty Baby got loose and became fractious upon trying to get him back into a crate. "Kitty Baby needs to be tagged today or will be euthanized tomorrow. He did go to an internal MACC foster this weekend to see how he did, and unfortunately it didn’t go great – he is coming back today. He snuck out of the room he was put in and when he saw the fosters other cats he got really angry. They had to put him into a large dog kennel for the weekend as he wasn’t having it otherwise."
So, advocates for him were really scrambling to be sure he didn't meet an untimely end and asked Home For Life Animal Sanctuary to help when he was passed by for rescue placement. We wanted to help and thanks to Torie and Will, two fosters affiliated with MACC, who stepped up to care for Kitty Baby until we could fit him in, we were able to "tag" this deserving senior cat and save his life. Yesterday Will brought Kitty to the sanctuary.
No wonder he is crabby with the embarrassing name of "Kitty Baby". Will and Torie called him "Oscar" and he did well with them; but we have an Oscar already, so we are looking for a new name. I thought of the old British aristocrat name of Peregrine, Peri for short, after one of our dogs and to acknowledge the cat's dignity.
We have Peri in one of our isolation rooms and when the door knob jammed some of our other cats paid him a visit; everything was cordial and he has been welcomed by the other cats of Home for Life. Still, we want to keep him isolated for the next week to monitor
his food and fluid intake and allow him to get used to our schedule and routine. Also, our shelter vet is on vacation this week and so we would like her to meet Peri next Monday when she is back. We were really happy to observe him eating well last evening and seeming to be comfortable, He is in great condition and doesn't look his age—seems more like age 3 than a 13-year-old cat.
After the vet has checked him over, we will do a soft release where we put up a baby gate, and the other cats can meet Peri through the grate and even jump over to keep him company. He can also get out to mingle. Eventually, as he shows he is comfortable we will take down the gate so he is free to roam in the North cattery and even go outside in the attached cat run, just in time for spring and
nice weather.
We are looking forward to providing "Kitty Baby" now named appropriately Peregrine a loving home for life for his senior years after his abandonment by his owner and close call.