KEIKO Domestic Medium Hair Grand Rapids, MI

On May 3rd, 2016 I received an email from a very nice former volunteer who had come across a stunning tangerine colored tom cat one evening upon returning home from a concert. Teri took it upon herself to get him in to her vet for testing and when she learned that he was FIV+ she turned to us for advice and eventual placement. The Bissell Foundation stepped in and neutered him for free through CSNIP and her veterinarian offered her a discount on vaccines and flea & intestinal parasite control (though he did need dental work); this made much less work for me to get him program ready when the time rolled around for intake. However I was heading out of state at the time and wouldn’t be able to fling open our doors until I returned and settled back into my daily hectic routine, so Teri offered to house him in her chicken coop—which in actuality is the Taj Mahal of outdoor accommodations - until I was able to greet him with open arms on May 26th.

I was eagerly awaiting this gorgeous guy’s arrival, but in all honesty nothing could have prepared me for just how stinking adorable this fine fella was up close and personal! Born in the spring of 2012, I know for a fact that someone, somewhere cared for this sweetheart because he is simply too gentle and genuinely people-oriented to have been left to his own devices for very long. Sadly he wasn’t kept indoors or neutered, hence acquiring FIV through fighting and /or mating, but we are more than happy to make tender-hearted Keiko one of our Sid’s Kids—and will be even more elated when we locate the purr-fect home for him. No doubt the latter will be a snap, as Keiko, whose name means ‘blessing’, is one of THE MOST AWESOME cats we have—and we have a pretty impressive population at our sanctuary! From the INSTANT he set fluffy little foot into our facility the volunteers and Facebook fans were simply fawning over him...and for good reason! When it comes to being social and silly, the cat with the ‘derpy’ eyes (a made-up word for ‘expressive’) is at the top of the heap! In fact he was so dead set on escaping our intake suite before his ID photo was taken that he busted out almost immediately, trotting around like he owned the place, nosing up to all of his new best friends (he has A LOT of them) and checking things out without trepidation or hesitation but rather eagerness and profound enthusiasm! Big Sid’s is definitely proving to be Keiko’s oyster and he could not be more thrilled to have been given this amazing opportunity to swim with this cool school of (cat)fish!

One volunteer aptly described Keiko as being ‘Mr. Smooth’ as nothing makes waves for him or stresses him out in the least. He literally loves EVERYONE and every cat he makes cozy contact with, which is quite remarkable for a kitty living in shelter housing on average 95 cats! Keiko is one of the happiest, most joyful cats around, and every day with him is a reason to be thankful he was found; we are truly blessed to have this magnificent creature in our presence!