Rescue Tail / Bravo 

With his large green eyes, sharp canines, bold tiger stripes and bulky size, meeting Bravo for the first time was truly intimidating. The nine-year-old tabby cat was being surrendered to our Marathon Campus in June of 2020 with his sister Sweety. In contrast, Sweety was a shy and reserved Russian Blue who accepted the staff and volunteers as her new surrogate family and the shelter as her new home.

Bravo was less than pleased at this new station in life and was fearless in showing his contempt. Any attempt at making contact with him resulted in a frightening display of fangs, hissing and a surprisingly quick swat from the senior cat. His communication was clear, “Leave me alone!” So we did, and gave the big cat time to decompress.

Days turned to weeks, which turned into months and little progress was being made. He would tolerate us at best and concerns were rising whether this cat would ever be adoptable, so one of our compassionate staff members made it her priority to combat Bravo’s attitude with a soft and slow approach filled with patience and kindness.

After weeks of trying, contact was finally made. With a soft scratch on the head his eyes and body softened for just a moment as he leaned into her fingers. His defence was only down for a few moments, but the success of that brief encounter was not lost on everyone. It was a celebration!

From that first scratch, to a full pet, each touch led to longer massages, chin rubs and long, full-body back rubs. He started to crave and love her touch so desperately he would drool and reach for her whenever she stopped. The big scary Tiger collapsed into a cuddly house cat. From then on, we all were able to pet, scratch and love Bravo and in return he loved us back.

It has been over a year since our first meeting and Bravo is an entirely different feline. Now Bravo is ready for adoption. Upon visiting our Marathon Campus Catio to meet him, the first thing you’ll notice is his size, because he’s absolutely huge! The second thing you’ll notice is his equally large heart upon gaining his trust.  It’s no secret that older cats generally spend a bit more time in shelters than kittens, and at ten-years-old now, Bravo is no exception having waited over 400 days for a family to call his own.

Bravo is part of our Golden Paw Project, a program designed to help senior pets find furever families. His adoption fee is completely waived, his adopter will receive a year’s worth of complimentary flea/tick medications in addition to a free wellness exam at our Key West Dogwood Clinic and discounted services for life. To adopt Bravo visit us online at https://fkspca.org/adopt/adopt-a-cat/ or call our Marathon Campus at 305-743-4800.