Buddy has quite the story. As a kitten, the neighborhood kids discovered him in a car engine, where he likely went to get warm and he had been torn to shreds by the engine and had huge, open wounds. Thankfully, they brought him to the right neighbor who took Buddy in and helped him heal. This kind neighbor would become Buddy's loving owner. Buddy still has the scars from this collision with a car engine, including one small streak of white fur, as if the trauma actually changed the color of his fur. His owner, a Vietnam War veteran, was looking for companionship, and Buddy was ready to love him.
Buddy became his owner's best friend and was there for him every day of his life for the next 8 years, including the last day when his owner passed away while in hospice care. Because his owner did not have family or friends that could take care of Buddy, he made arrangements with our rescue prior to his death. Tyson's Place Animal Rescue assists terminally ill people with finding new families for their pets. We made arrangements with the owner so Buddy could stay with him until he died, and then would move to the care of our rescue.
Buddy was scared, confused, and mourning after the loss of his owner. For two weeks, we feed him and cleaned his litter box while he hid under a blanket, not ready for interaction with people. Then, one day, he just blossomed and began begging to be pet, jumping into laps, and purring and purring. He now actually cries for attention! He truly is an amazing, remarkable cat, and we fall more in love with him every day. He doesn't mind being picked up, and you can actually hold him so he faces you. His adores getting attention and will stick his one front paw up in the air as he is being pet - a super cute trait! When he is super content and happy with life, he lays down on his back and tucks up his two front legs (see the photo proof!) as if he is saying life doesn't get better than this - but it can get better when he has a home of his own and a loving owner once again!
If you love orange cats, he is your boy! He has the tabby markings on his tail and head, and oddly enough his body is solid orange (with that tell tale white streak) - a solid orange cat is rare!
We want Buddy to have that special bond that he had with his owner once again with his new forever family. His adoption fee has been sponsored by a veteran supporter, so, although he is current on vaccinations, blood work, fecal check, and microchip, there is no adoption fee for him. Because he is a bit shy at first, we offer the option to do a "foster to adopt" where he could live in your house for a few weeks to make sure he is a good match before finalizing an adoption. If he isn't the right fit, he comes right back to us.
Buddy would do best in a quiet home where someone has patience and realizes that it may take Buddy a few weeks to acclimate to a new environment. He is healthy, litter box trained, and should easily live another decade as long as he, like any cat, has routine veterinary visits.
Please email tysonsplacerescue@gmail.com or fill out an application at tysonsplacerescue.org if interested. Help us provide his family with peace of mind, knowing Buddy is loved in a forever home.
