Oliver Just Couldn’t Have Done Better!

By Barb Dunn

Right before taking Oliver to his new home. I had already cleaned up running mascara once from my tears.

Right before taking Oliver to his new home. I had already cleaned up running mascara once from my tears.

On Tuesday morning, June 21, a lady at the Caterpillar Logistics facility in Southaven, MS where I work heard meowing signs from her engine after she arrived at work.  She had to remove parts of her engine in order to extract a little kitten, who was extremely fortunate to have survived a car ride in the engine of the car.  The little kitten was placed in a box on the floor of the facility in the hopes that someone would adopt him.

As the day wore on, I learned that no one had adopted him.  I also noticed that he seemed sick – lethargic and not bright-eyed as most kittens are.  I looked more closely into the box and saw that he had had a bowel movement that was green, runny and contained worms.  Immediately, I called a local vet who was about 5 minutes away and made an appointment for that afternoon to take him in.  I named him Oliver because, well, he looked like an Oliver!

The little guy had about a dozen ticks on him and fleas to boot.  After getting a bath at the vet’s, I was able to pick the ticks and fleas off him.  Poor little Oliver; he was being eaten alive from both the inside and out.  No wonder he had felt so poorly.

He tested negative for feline leukemia and AIDS, so with the medicine in tote, I figured he’d make a full recovery and be able to find a good home.  From Tuesday to Friday, I carted him back and forth from the hotel to work, feeding him the best grain-free food and giving him his meds.  Even within 24 hours, he was doing so much better.  I have to admit – it was REALLY nice having him cuddle with me in the hotel room.  It wasn’t lost on me that he is the consummate cat-companion – very lively and playful and yet almost like a barnacle; right by my heel wherever I walked, meowing to be picked up and cuddled.  How can your heart not melt when he pleads with you to be held and then buries himself into your chest and neck, purring loudly?!!

With the help of an accomplice, I had to smuggle him into and out of the facility where I work.  Even though I’m the facility manager and don’t have to worry about a disapproving boss, I do have an onsite client and didn’t want to find out the hard way that I couldn’t bring Oliver to work.  Fortunately, the Drury Inn is a pet-friendly hotel so I didn’t need to smuggle him in there.

Since we already have 8 cats, Rick and I decided (somewhat reluctantly because he’s adorable!) to try to find him a forever home.  So on Friday just before I left Southaven for the long trek back to Indy, Rick sent out a mass email to everyone in his company (Forum Credit Union) and within 30 minutes received a reply back from a lady who said she was “VERY interested” in adopting him.  Her husband had lost his feline constant companion of 14 years, Mango, last year and melted when he saw a picture of Oliver.

Oliver was an absolute charm on the trip from Southaven.  For about 10 hours, he slept on my lap, purring at times when he wasn’t quite asleep.  I have to admit that I was really lukewarm about giving him up.

By Saturday, he had met all our cats and Eddie; our youngest (1 year old) befriended him instantly.  I cried buckets on the way to his new home.

It turns out that we couldn’t have found him a better home.  Rick and I both had requested an MBO (most benevolent outcome) from the universe for the best home possible and lo and behold, he got it!  His new mom, Sherrie, absolutely adores him.  But his new dad, Jeff, is COMPLETELY smitten with him!  Jeff reminds me a lot of Rick – a completely doting cat dad.

I was really relieved to learn that he would be an indoor-only cat and that he would not be declawed and nor would he be loaded up with unnecessary vaccines.  They were also very enthusiastic about putting him on a grain-free diet.  (We brought over about a dozen different grain-free flavors for them to try.)  Best of all, he’s with a family that adores him.  After spending time with them Saturday evening, I learned they would’ve been crushed if we had changed our minds about adopting Oliver out.  Sherrie and Jeff and their teenage boy and girl were texting and posting to Facebook about how excited they were about their new family member.  I hadn’t been on the fence about whether to adopt him out, just sad that he wouldn’t be part of our lives anymore.  (They did agree to let us visit him though!)

Oliver slept on Sherrie’s lap for about 2 hours straight and then went to Jeff to be cuddled for awhile.  When the kids came home from a movie, Oliver woke up and started playing like mad, racing around the house, beating up toys that belong to the other feline family member, Saebo.  He was having such fun playing and zooming around that he didn’t even notice when we left.  This was a good thing, in my eyes even though I had become very attached to him within less than a week’s time because he is a loving little soul and I have a special place in my heart for him after saving his life.

It was really obvious to Rick and me that Oliver had been placed into the right family.  In our family, he would’ve been well-loved, well-fed and cared for, but he would have been one of nine cats.  In his new family, he’s one of two cats and is very much the center of attention with Sherrie, Jeff and the two kids.  Oliver just couldn’t have done better!

Barb Dunn

Tagged with: • •

Filed under: Articles

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!