Rescue Tail / Oma, Oh My! 

By Cathy Baier

Her story renews our faith in people and provides hope for homeless animals everywhere.

Oma was two months old when she came to us in April 2016. She arrived in a trap, along with another feral kitten who could have been her brother. Because she was shy, she went into a foster home with the hope of bringing out the best in her before she went up for adoption. She did improve but once back at the shelter, her favorite spot in the colony room was as high and far out of reach as she could get. And there she stayed. When we moved to the new shelter, the enhanced space helped her, and she did start exploring more. But she still preferred to stay to herself and not be bothered by any pesky humans. She could usually be found on the shelf in the outdoor-half of her colony room, maintaining watch on the bigger world.

Although a very pretty cat, her anti-social ways didn’t garner much attention from potential adopters. Time passed; in fact, years passed! Through springs, summers, falls, and winters, Oma stayed with us. When we introduced her to Jackson Galaxy’s Cat Pawsitive program, we discovered what a smart cat she was. Clicker training encouraged her to engage with people on her own terms and she became a quick study and champion “high-fiver.” But despite being a straight-A student, she still found no adopter.

Jackie first met Oma online in 2019 when she visited our website.  She was living in California, at the time, planning a permanent move to the Keys. She noticed how long Oma had been at the shelter and decided that if she was still there once she had settled into her new Keys home, she would consider adopting her. She had previously lived with a once feral cat who had passed away and she wanted a new friend for her current Torti-Calico cat Poppy.

People like Jackie don’t come along very often. She is a true lover of animals with total respect for who they are.  For her, it’s more about them and what they need from her rather than what she wants from them. She shared that her previous “reformed feral” took years before she would allow Jackie to pet her, yet by the time she passed at 14 years old, she was a love who snuggled next to Jackie every night. Time and patience are the ultimate gifts we can offer any new animal, and sometimes they might need a lot of both. Obviously, Jackie is a willing provider. She told us that Oma wouldn’t need to entertain her or be a cuddle bug; she would be content just to give Oma a place to be herself and feel her presence in the house! She also didn’t feel the need to rename her. Jackie said, “Oma is a great name, and she’s used to it, after being known as Oma all those years in the shelter.” So in June 2020, more than four years after we first met Oma, she left us to live with Jackie and Poppy.

Our updates from Jackie are very encouraging:

“Oma is most comfortable lounging in the spare bedroom with Poppy most of the day, and she is a fan of Temptation treats. She is starting to follow Poppy’s lead a little more in sashaying over to get her morning treats, but usually still makes me bring the treats over to her on the bed! We are still getting to know each other, and I’m on her time schedule. She explores the house at night, and quickly discovered the sliding door pet door. I hear the click-click of the flap when she ventures to the screened-in porch to experience the “almost-outdoors.” She has a favorite chair on the porch, evidenced by all the white hair I find on it! I’m not sure how much Oma was exposed to music during her shelter life, but I have music in our environment pretty much every waking hour. I think she prefers classical and Sunday morning Jazz Flavors on US1 radio, but she tolerates The Rolling Stones well, too!”

Oma may not have been a cat for everyone and she had to wait a very long time to meet Jackie, but it was worth the wait to find the perfect person who will love her for who she is!  The Florida Keys SPCA has no time limit for our animals and for Oma, that made all the difference.

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