All good things come to those who wait. For Precious, the wait was worth it. Precious, a shy, lovely “barn” cat who is over seven years old, arrived at the GTHS in December 2021. Her caretaker surrendered her after concerns of coyotes close to where she was living. Not too long after her intake, the GTHS medical team discovered she was in congestive heart failure. While not highly symptomatic, she was given a year or so left to live.
When Precious arrived at the GTHS, over 100 cats were looking for loving homes. The GTHS had more than 100 cats who needed to find homes. With so many cats looking to be adopted, how would a shy, older cat with a medical condition find a family? Precious needed special parents who could provide her with compassion, love, and patience despite her medical diagnosis.
GTHS Adoptions Specialist, Ayrlea, knew she had to think outside the box and contacted the team at Carroll’s Animal Sanctuary and Rescue in Hanover. Without hesitation, the compassionate women said yes, they had room for Precious, and they would welcome her into their home for the final chapters of her life.
The mission of Carroll’s Animal Sanctuary and Rescue is to provide a forever home to animals who are senior, have special needs, or are hard to adopt as they are the ones who struggle to find a safe place to go when they are no longer wanted. Carroll’s team helps their residents trust and learn to love again. With the help of Cat Care Coordinator, Jessica, who took extra care of Precious, Transport Coordinator, Pam, who helped organize the transport efforts, and Matt, who volunteered to drive Precious to Hanover, on Thursday, January 27th, Precious arrived at her new home.
Jennifer of Caroll’s Animal Sanctuary and Rescue said Precious was unsure about her new environment at first but she knew the shy cat would fit in. “She was a very scared kitty at first, and we knew she needed some extra time,” she stated. “For us here, we thought she would fit into our program, and we had space so it was perfect timing for Precious.”
The good news is Precious started to come out of her shell. She has jumped into eating more, started exploring her new home, and letting people, like Jennifer, be closer to her, letting her and others give the sweet cat head scratches. Slowly but surely, this nervous kitty is feeling more at home every single day with her favourite spot being the soft new bed she was given during her arrival. Precious even has other animal friends to surround her – there are currently seven cats and eight dogs who live at the sanctuary.
For Jennifer, she was happy that the GTHS reached out to her and her team, and it’s a comfort knowing this sweetheart of a cat will be surrounded by unconditional love for the remainder of her life. In the end, all Jennifer truly wants is Precious to be happy and to get the continuous medical attention she deserves.
“Just as long as she feels happy and cared for,” Jennifer said. “She gets to live in a place where she feels cozy, she gets cuddled and loved, but she will also get extra medical care. She’s special.”
But what makes Precious special?
“Her unique personality makes her a very special cat. One of our main goals is to always make the animals who live with us feel comfortable and go at their own pace,” Jennifer said. “We are happy to slowly gain her trust, and get to know her. She is sweet and loving and we are so happy she is now part of our family!”
The GTHS team is thrilled that despite many challenges, Precious is finally home.
