2013 is a sad year for TLC.
Robin just joined Joyce (who died on New Year’s) on the Rainbow
Bridge. Like Joyce’s death – Robin’s
was sudden. A few weeks ago he became
very bloated and was diagnosed with end-stage cancer. But -- up until a few days before his death
there were no behavioral signs of illness and he passed his 6-month physical
last fall with flying colors. Cats are
masters at hiding illness until it’s too late to treat.
Robin – like Joyce -- came from the show-and-tell feral cat
colony we maintained from 2001-2005 at our Older Cat Sanctuary in Saline,
Michigan. While the older companion cats
lived cage-free in the farmhouse, the feral colony occupied the barn. Then, when we refocused our efforts
exclusively on free and local cat spay/neuter, we merged both groups together
in a closed-admission indoor shelter to live out their lives. With these two gone only 7 remain – three of
which (Onyx age 18, and Missy and Simon age 20) are in hospice.
Although Robin was given to us as a feral cat – he was
anything but. Unlike Joyce who stayed
distant from people even after living as an indoor-only cat for 8 years – Robin
was a ringer. True – prior to coming to
TLC he lived outdoors on his own – and when he first arrived he was very
skittish around us – but once he settled in, the socialized cat re-emerged –
enjoying being petted and groomed and living with people. He most definitely was someone’s lost or
abandoned pet cat. The elderly man who gave us Robin recognized his "pet potential" and visited him every day for the first 3 years we had him -- then Maury's health deteriorated and he had to discontinue his visits -- having his wife Edna call weekly to make sure Robin was doing well.
As often happens when cats are left to fend for themselves
outdoors, they take on the behaviors of a feral cat – fearful of people --
hiding from them during the daytime and waiting for the cloak of night to come
out for food. Then – when they’re given a second chance to
live with people– they calm down and the socialized cat re-emerges. If it weren't for Robin’s ear-tip (done
when he was neutered to identify him as a sterilized feral) you’d never have
been the wiser.
Lucky for Robin when he was rescued he ended up in our cat
colony – if he had been turned in to a conventional animal control shelter he
would have been categorized as a feral cat and euthanized on arrival as
unadoptable. Shelter intake decisions
are made quickly – and the “feral” Robin would have hidden the “socialized”
Robin from their view. That’s one of the dangers of categorizing
cats – they’re not that simple and first impressions are often misleading or
downright wrong. And – in Robin’s case
– an arbitrary decision would have ended his life 12 years too soon.
