LOKIE Dilute Calico & Domestic Short Hair Mix Grand Rapids, MI

In February of 2013, I received an email from Alissa from the Humane Society of Southwest Michigan, asking for placement help for two FIV positive cats that had been with them a year.  Seems that Lokie (born in January of 2008) was found in an abandoned trailer park right across the road from their shelter, and since it was being torn down, she had nowhere to go.  She was spayed and four-paw declawed but completely out of her element, poor thing.  Mushka (born in March of 2009)was a homeless boy whose whereabouts prior to his rescue were unknown, but he too is as timid and reserved as they come.   Put the two of them together, and you have two subdued, scared of their own shadow peas-in-a pod;  at least they found strength in the comfort of one another.
It broke my heart to see these two cower and shy away from me during those first few days at the clinic, where I ran blood work on them, extracted bad teeth from  Lokie, and cleaned out Mushka's ears which were impacted with ear mite debris.  And since he had just been neutered days before, he needed a good old fashioned bath to remove the grease and oils common in intact males, known as stud-tail.   I would like to say by the end of there stay with me there were putty in my hands, but that wasn't the case, and I sent them down to our sanctuary for some much needed compassion, gentle and positive interaction and heaping doses of one-on-one!  If anyone can bring out a frightened cat's inner lion, out group of dedicated volunteers can for sure!
Lokie and Mushka have depended on one another for so long for comfort, that the duo has become quite a couple.  He is as handsome as they come when his ears aren't flat against his head, and she sports a cute 'mole' to rival that of Cindy Crawford's:)   Since they were FIV+ they were kept together at the HSSM, which was a blessing in disguise, as honestly I don't think either one of them would have fared well if they were flying solo.  I cannot thank the staff there for making their stays as comfortable as humanly possible, and for not giving up on them and letting them go simply due to their unfortunate FIV status.  Not many shelters are able or willing to take up cage space for cats with this virus, so I consider the two to be blessed beyond belief.  And believe it when I tell you that we will dote on them daily and allow them to slowly open their petals and blossom;  in time they will flourish and realize that life is better than good here at Big Sids!