ELDERLY BLIND CAT DAYS FROM BEING EUTHANIZED LIVES BEST LIFE AFTER ADOPTION
Despite the fact they weren't looking to adopt a new pet, James and Sarah are now the proud owners of Apollo, an elderly cat that was just days from being euthanized.
James, who lives in Indiana with his girlfriend, told Newsweek: "He kind of just fell into our lap since one of our neighbors originally had him and could no longer care for him."
Apollo's owners were unable to care for him, but were told by the local rescue that because of his advanced age and varying health conditions, it was likely he would be put to sleep.
Born blind, the elderly cat was set to go to the local shelter when James and his girlfriend heard his story.
"When we learned about his situation, we decided almost immediately that we were going to adopt him especially after seeing how much life was still in him, and it would be a tragedy to see a cat with so much personality despite his age and conditions be put down," said James.
Around 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters each year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
Of these, around 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized, including 390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats.
To save Apollo from this fate, the couple introduced him into their home where he has quickly become a part of the family.
Earlier this year, a woman shared how her plan to adopt an elderly cat so it could "die peacefully" backfired in the best way possible. Another rescue cat prompted tears when a cat named Lovely had been in a shelter for over 440 days. Having already been through five homes in her life, hearts broke for the feline who is eager for love and attention.
"He has two different types of eye drops that we have to out into each eye three to four times a day," said James. "He's settling in great and getting along with our other cats wonderfully. At first the new environment was a little threatening to him I think, especially when he escaped our room the first night and found his way into the basement!"
Luckily, he was quickly located and is now pretty well acclimatized to the new home.
Apollo captured attention on Reddit after James shared his story on the r/cats subreddit. In hundreds of comments, users thanked the couple for taking on the older feline.
"Thank you, he knows you saved him!" said one commenter. While another wrote: "So awesome, you saved a life."
Another Redditor commented: "That's awesome! Apollo is a handsome young man. You're a saint for saving that cutie."
One commenter shared a similar experience after rescuing a much-loved cat.
"We adopted a 10+ year old cat who had just lost an eye to infection and he had intestinal cancer," wrote the Reddit user. "We had two wonderful years with him... He was so loved and returned our care and love tenfold. No doubt you'll have the same experience with Apollo."
After sharing Apollo on Reddit, James was thrilled that so many people enjoyed his story.
"I didn't expect him to become as popular as he has," said the owner. "I love the reaction, and I am glad it has warmed others' hearts so much.
"Maybe someone who was on the fence about adopting a special needs cat will take the plunge and potentially give them more years of a happy life."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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2023-06-05T10:45:40Z dg43tfdfdgfd