Rescue Tail / Snuggles 

November is Adopt a Senior Pet month, and couldn’t be a more fitting time to celebrate the adoption of our oldest resident cat, Snuggles! We met Snuggles on November 1st, 2019, when she was brought into our shelter as a sixteen-year-old cat. Unfortunately, her aging owner could no longer care for herself, or her beloved pet. With no other options, this sweet senior Siamese was placed for adoption at our Marathon Campus.

Despite her age, Snuggles was surprisingly healthy. Although she had progressive retina degeneration (common in her breed) which left her with vision problems, she was otherwise the perfect epitome of health. In her youth her owner had her declawed (a very painful and controversial procedure) so Snuggles was a petite, partially blind, declawed cat with a big meow and her own set of demands. For one, Snuggles refused to go in the Catio, our large indoor/outdoor free roaming space for cats. To accommodate her refusal, Snuggles simply became our lobby cat, content to lay in her soft bed for long naps only to awaken for her second demand, her favorite, a bowl of senior bisque cat food.

She was a gorgeous cat with seal point markings, a desirable breed, friendly and overall healthy, so we thought her time with us would be brief. Surely there was a Siamese-loving person who would love to give an older cat a furever home! As the adoption inquiries came in, time after time, when we discussed her age adopters began to shy away. Understandably, the fear of becoming attached and losing her too soon due to age was a reasonable fear, one which places a barrier to adopting senior pets.

Breaking down barriers to adoption is key to helping more animals find furever families. To help our sweet seniors to the path of adoption our Golden Paw Project offers a complimentary pre-adoption blood panel, a year’s worth of heartworm, flea & tick prevention, a complimentary wellness visit at our Key West Dogwood Clinic, a waived adoption fee and 10% off all services for the life of the pet. Thanks to our Golden Paw Program, one year and two weeks later Snuggles was adopted at the age of seventeen making her our oldest animal adopted out from our Marathon Campus!

We truly believe that for our healthy adoptable animals there’s a home out there for every single one. Be it a wiggly puppy, a playful kitten, a mature adult or a sweet senior, as a no-time-limit shelter every animal can stay with us as long as it takes. This month please consider bringing a senior pet into your home and heart. Seniors have just as much love to give as any other animal. They are generally already trained, their “bad behavior” days are long in the past, and when adopting a senior you get exactly what you see. A stable, loving companion in search of a soft bed, plenty of snoozes and lifelong commitment. Learn more about our senior companions in Key West by calling 305-294-4857 or 305-743-4800 in Marathon. We would love to tell you all about our senior pets. Just call our Key West campus at 305-294-4857, or 305-743-4800 in Marathon.