Rescue Tail / Cloudy gets adopted! 

By Tara McFarland

With her petite stature and adorable markings Cloudy always stood out to me in our Catio at our Marathon Campus. She was half the size of the other cats with an adorable grey chin and large eyes. She had found a comfortable spot in the air-conditioned room on the bottom shelf in the corner, it was her favorite resting place. Day after day I would find her there, patiently waiting for the other forty or so cats to greet me, looking for pets and treats until it was her turn.

Cloudy would stand and stretch as her tail twitched like a rattlesnake. She happily “made pancakes” with her front paws and would head butt and rub against her cubby hole. She eagerly awaited her treat and prefered scratches on her chin. After a good deep chin scratch she would give my hand a tiny lick before one last rub and stretch on her way back to her favorite napping spot.

This was our routine, every day as the weeks, months and years rolled by. As I write this now I realize I never once heard her meow.  She was silent and patient, a little bit shy, but full of sweetness and gentle character.

During Hurricane Irma we evacuated every single animal into a safe foster home. After the storm we offered our foster families free adoptions and half of our fosters chose to adopt. I was sad to see Cloudy return, but not every family was in the position to adopt their foster animal. Back at the shelter she resumed her old routine, in her comfortable safe spot she had carved out for herself a year prior. She returned the same as she left, happy, quiet, peaceful.

Earlier this year she began developing some urinary issues and upon examination at our local veterinarian it was determined she had no underlying medical issues, but instead something called urinary cystitis which was behavioral and related to stress. The little cat had been with us nearly four years at the time, and although she always appeared happy and comfortable she was clearly communicating that her time with us had drawn on too long and what she needed, what all our shelter animals need, was a home of her own.

Cloudy joined our Golden Paw Program to help encourage potential adopters to adopt a senior pet. With bloodwork, a waived adoption fee, a year’s worth of flea preventive, a complimentary wellness visit at our Dogwood Clinic in Key West and 10% off all future visits for the rest of her life, we hoped having her in the program would be the incentive her adopter would need to finally adopt our longest resident cat.

On October 2nd 2020, 1,514 days in the shelter, four years and two months, Cloudy the cat who had been our longest resident cat finally found her furrever family. There are no words to convey the excitement and happiness all of our staff and volunteers at our Marathon Campus felt finally saying goodbye to the little cat who had held a special place in our hearts for so long. Writing to you today gives me the same happy chills I felt when Dillon said he chose Cloudy to be his forever cat.

Every shelter animal deserves a safe and loving home which is why the Florida Keys SPCA is a no time limit shelter for healthy adoptable animals. We are committed to giving every shelter animal the best life we can give them while they await their adoption day. Sometimes that day comes quickly, for others that can take some time, even years such was Cloudy’s case. Between our two Campuses we have hundreds of wonderful animals waiting for you. Visit us online at fkspca.org/adopt to see all the adoptable animals in Key West and Marathon.  When considering bringing an animal into your home and heart ask our staff about our long term residents and adopting a pet like Cloudy. There is no greater gift than the love you’ll receive from a grateful shelter animal.