Forever in my Heart & Meet Mac

It’s so hard to believe that it has been 7 years since Watcher passed away. He was part of so many key points of my life growing up since I had him from the age of 8 to 28. I think back over the past 7 years- welcoming Mister Harley into my life, Colorful Creations closing, moving off cape, finding Chris and SO much more that has happened. It is weird to think how he wasn’t physically a part of it all- but I know he is with me 🙂 Inked on my foot and forever in my heart.

It is only fitting that today I introduce you to who I refer to as “old man kitty”. I realized the other day that I never shared photos and stories from our vacation on the cape in August. I will definitely do that, but maybe hold out until its the cold and icky winter so we can all live through the photos and stories together 🙂

We rented a house in Hyannis on Cape Cod. It is a perfect location, centrally located to everything and everyone we wanted to see. Again I promise to share more about that later 😉

One day we were walking back from main street and I saw a kitty laying down in the driveway across the street. As we were getting closer it looked like it wasn’t moving and I became concerned. I slowly approached the kitty, being sure to make noise to not startle it. Still no movement. Then just as I was about to crouch down it “woke up” saw me and started to get up and meow in this very scratchy old man voice. Watcher had this meow the last few years of his life, and it just warmed my heart to hear it again. I started to pet the kitty and I could see that he was very underweight, a little wobbly on his feet but super lovey and was purring and pushing his face into my hand for more scratches.

Throughout our vacation I continued to check on old man kitty, feeding him some tuna and giving him some love. It was bothering me a lot that a kitty of his age seemed to be homeless. I can’t imagine it. It appeared that some of the people that lived in the area were feeding him sometimes but he didn’t have shelter or medical care. His food sometimes had bugs in it etc.

I reached out to my friend Jen who used to watch Watcher and Mister Harley for me when I lived on the island. I asked her what she thought I should do and right away she said to contact the New England Society for Abandoned Animals. From there I was in contact with Sarah the shelter manager. She informed me that if it appeared that he didn’t belong to anyone that we could bring him into the shelter and she would have a vet look at him that day. Chris and I talked it over and I decided I would take him in. As I was going to get the kitty one of the guys in the area made a comment about  how “everyone liked to feed the kitty” and I mentioned that it looked like he needed medical care and I was going to take him to the shelter so he could get that. The guy proceeded to tell me that they planned on bringing him to the vet soon. With him saying that I didn’t feel right scooping him up and taking him away. I notified Sarah, she agreed but said she would check in on him soon. A few days later she called me to let me know when she went to check on him she got the same story “they were bringing him to the vets soon”. Again there didn’t appear to be any shelter for him and it seemed as if just a few people were putting food out for him when they remember etc. It didn’t see consistent or one family taking care of him.

As I got back to “life” he was still on my mind… I was talking it over with Chris and I just knew he wouldn’t survive another winter, even a mild Cape Cod winter. I had plans to go see MelissER on the cape for dinner so when I arrived in Hyannis a little early I decided to swing by and see how Old Man Kitty was doing. He was sleeping in the same driveway and as soon as he saw my car he started to get up and come to it, so I pulled over and parked. I gave him some pets. He greeted me with his scratchy meows. He seemed as if he wanted to get in the car with me 😉 I checked out the dish near by, it had a little bit of dried up wet food in it, but it was also filled with ants 🙁 I was kicking myself for not bringing any food with me…. I told Old Man Kitty I would call Sarah at NESAA again tomorrow and tell her there seemed to be no change in his living conditions.  It broke my heart to leave him again.

I called Sarah the next day and spoke to her about the situation. She agreed it wasn’t how he should be living she said she would swing by again and see what she could do.

When she drove by again, it was pouring rain and he was just sitting there, soaked. She said he looked like he was waiting for the bus. haha! She picked him up and drove him right to the vets. I was so nervous about this because I could tell he was older, who knew what was going on with him. The beauty of NESAA is that it is a no kill shelter- so if he has a clean bill of health he can live there until he finds a home.

Chris and I were at WordCamp in Providence and I saw Sarah had left me a voicemail- I knew it was the results of the vet visit and blood work Old Man Kitty got. I decided to listen to it the next day in case it was bad news, I didn’t want to be all emotional at a tech conference!
We woke up on Sunday and listed to the voicemail. Old Man Kitty was microchipped. There was a name of a guy, but he never updated his address so it pointed them back to the MSPCA. He is approx 16 years old. He had a seizure at the vets, but it is treatable by meds and he will probably never have one again. His blood work came back CLEAN! Besides being very underweight he is a healthy boy! I was so happy to hear this!!! They named him Mac. (how fitting for this apple lover 😉 ) I called Sarah back and told her how happy I was to hear he is healthy. She informed me that when he gets his weight back up I can have first dibs at adopting him…. Chris even said if I wanted to we could. I thought LONG and hard about it and as much as I feel he deserves a loving home there are a lot of variables where I just don’t think it would be fair to him or Mister Harley. However I did vow to Sarah that I would do all i could to help find him a home.

So that is why I am writing this post. Even though his is older, he is the sweetest boy and he deserves snuggles and love. Again the beauty of NESAA is because it is a no kill shelter, Mac will have a place to live the rest of his life (if he isn’t adopted).

I was teaching a card class on the cape a few weeks ago so I asked if I could come visit him. Sarah said sure! Anytime! He has his own kitty apartment right now. While he is getting settled in, gaining weight etc. He lives alone but soon he will be introduced to the other shelter kitties and will be able to free roam the facility! He was chowing down when I came in to visit him. I do think he might be a little deaf… as it doesn’t seem like he always hears you approach him. As soon as he knew I was there he greeted me with that old man “meow” that I love. I spent some time with him, petting him and brushing him. They cleaned up his fur and shaved the matted parts. He seemed really good. Just before I left he was settling into his warm cozy kitty bed. I just loved seeing him have a warm cuddly place to sleep.

I gave Sarah a donation to help with his vet bills and promised to send some monthly funds to help feed him at least until he finds a home.

So blog readers I am asking you to please SHARE this post. Help me help Mac find a home! I know an Old Man Kitty isn’t ideal for everyone, but I also know there is someone out there that will welcome this kitty with open arms! And if you can’t adopt him maybe you will consider making a donation in Mac’s name. The New England Society for Abandoned Animals are doing a great thing and they would appreciate any help they can get.

They have donation information right on their website. Let me know if you have any questions OR you can always email Sarah and remember PLEASE help me by sharing this post anywhere and everywhere. I am determined to help find a home for Old Man Kitty, Mac! 🙂