Another cat dumped but a happy ending..

The day after we found Sapphire lying in the yard we had another newcomer.   This handsome cat appeared in Reception just before we were about to close.  The room was empty an hour earlier..  We went in to close up and there he was, sitting on the desk and looking scared.  He couldn’t have made it in there on his own because the door was shut

He wasn’t in good condition, very thin and his coat not brushed, his feet rough as though he’d been walking for miles.   Naming his was easy, he’s a ‘lion’ cat (a Maine Coone we think) and he’s huge with a fluffly coat and a white ‘mane’ framing his face.   He may be big but he is friendly and affectionate.  Picking him up reassured him, he was very apprehensive.   But where had he come from?  At least he’d been left indoors and not left in the yard.

Leo passed his health check and was vaccinated, the vet confirming that he was a Maine Coone and that, apart from being underweight, he was in good health.   Although friendly, he was still nervous and as Sapphire came in aroound the same time, we decided to introduce them.   It was an immediate success.  Sapphire gave Leo the condifence he lacked, she decided that he was her new best friend.

The Derbyshire Times came to take photos, before Christmas we were taking cats in nearly every day.   Cats in crisis!   Thank you to everyone who has helped us feed them.   Leo and Sapphire’s photos were in the paper and the next day we had a phone call.   ‘I think you’ve found my cat….’ It was Leo’s owner who had lost his cat over a year earlier.

Leo had disappeared suddenly, perhaps he had been picked up and taken away.  He is an exceptionally handsome cat.   His owners had searched for him and were overjoyed that he had been found.  It was an emotional moment when they came up to see him and confirm that it was indeed their cat.   There was no doubting it, he was just as pleased as they were.

Happy endings are what it’s all about, the only sadness was for poor Sapphire.  They had fallen in love, she would certainly miss her friend.

Not for long though, the next day we had another phone call.   ‘Can we take Sapphire too?”    Lovely people who couldn’t bear to know that these two friends had been separated.   A few days later and Sapphire went home to Leo.  A Christmas miracle?    Seems like it to us.