Samuel’s rescuers thought it was too late when he was discovered.
Samuel was skin and bones when he was taken to BARC, a municipal shelter in Houston, Texas, after spending most of his life trapped in a tiny cat carrier. His eyelids were swollen shut due to mange, and he had a long list of costly medical difficulties. Samuel was slated to be killed as soon as the shelter’s mandatory holding period expired due to his dismal prognosis.
The normally loving cat came dangerously near to never feeling love after being separated from people and other animals for two years. However, just hours before he was to be executed, a BARC staffer uploaded a photo on the internet.
Leslie Raines, a vet tech in the Houston region, was home ill that day and came upon Samuel’s photo.
“Someone had uploaded a photo of a really emaciated cat that had tested positive for feline immunodeficiency virus,” says the author (FIV). Raines told The Dodo, “I realized it wouldn’t give him a good start in attempting to get out of the shelter, and he just looked so pitiful.” “So I put out a call to several of the rescue organizations, stating that if I could get enough support, I’d foster him.”
Samuel was taken in by Save A Purrfect Cat Rescue (SAPCR) with little time to spare, and one of Raines’ clinic clients offered to be the ailing cat’s “freedom ride.”
Samuel’s fear of being granted free range in a cozy household atmosphere began to fade as he gained weight and his vision recovered. According to Raines, he moved from cowering under the sofa for days to perching on his wire-top cat carrier, his “comfort zone.”
“It was as if he had to learn how to be a cat as he started coming out of his shell more and more,” Raines added. “He had no idea how to play.” He would get down if you put him on a piece of furniture, and walking on the floor was like walking on burning coals.”
Samuel’s thick black and white fur grew in over the months, but he still had concerns to face. “Every time he saw it, his shadow astonished him, and his reflection through glass windows frightened him out – he was extremely skeptical of it,” Raines added.
Samuel reverted to the nervous kitten he had been around new people when it came time to meet potential adopters over a year later. Each new family was thoroughly screened by his kind foster mother, yet there was always something lacking.
Until a man named Bryan Smith saw Samuel’s photo on PetFinder and decided to adopt him. When the two eventually met, Samuel reminded Smith of the Maine Coon he had lost to cancer the previous year, and everything changed.
“We brought [Samuel] up to the clinic the day I met Bryan, and Bryan simply sat down next to the kennel and started chatting to him.” Raines described Samuel’s expression as “totally different than it had ever been – he simply relaxed.” “Bryan simply had such a calm temperament and was perfectly content to take his time.”
Source: petstv.net
