A cat who was found as a stray hopped onto the lap of a girl in a wheelchair and wouldn’t let go. A few weeks ago, Chris Poole, who has been rescuing and caring for community cats in his area, noticed a new face in the neighborhood. A blue-eyed feline showed up one day to join the feast amongst other cats and came back a few days later.
The new cat on the block might have been wandering the streets for some time. “Apartment complexes usually get lots of stray cats at the dumpsters as well as cats that are left behind when people move out,” Chris told us.
Over the weeks, the kitty slowly warmed up to his food provider and became increasingly talkative as he lowered his guard. Once he realized his human friend meant good, he began to let Chris pet him.
“Then an even bigger breakthrough came when I introduced him to catnip and silver vine,” Chris shared. “He would roll around and let me pet his belly and generally have a good time.”
That’s when Chris knew the cat belongs in a good home, and decided to find a rescue to help the deserving feline. Suncoast Animal League (in Palm Harbor, Florida) quickly stepped up. With help from some silver vine, the friendly stray went into a humane trap, and bid farewell to life on the streets.
After a couple of days, the cat adjusted to the indoor life and turned into quite the love-bug who wanted nothing but attention. “His name (Sinatra) suits him well. He is very vocal all the time,” Larissa Condarcure of Suncoast Animal League told us.
Larissa knew just the perfect home for him. After having Sinatra for about a week, she reached out to Lori Griggs who was at the shelter with her daughter, Kiley, a few months ago.
“They explained the troubles that they have had finding a cat, and I was determined to get them the right cat.”
Kiley travels in a power wheelchair, and most cats are scared of it. After visiting multiple shelters with an eye out for the right cat, Sinatra made quite an entrance. The fearless feline walked up to Kiley and hopped onto her lap for snuggles.
The two instantly connected. Sinatra rubbed against Kiley and put the biggest smile on her face. He wasn’t the least bit concerned about the wheelchair, and would sit comfortably on his human’s lap, purring away.
“He could care less about her driving around the house. Actually, he is like a speed bump and doesn’t even move out of the way,” Lori shared with us.
“When we opened his cat carrier in our daughter’s bed, he crawled right up onto her and snuggled.”
After months of searching and many shelter visits, Kiley finally found her perfect feline friend.
Sinatra is now a full-time lap cat. As soon as Kiley wakes up in the morning, he’s there ready to love and to be loved.
“It is like he has been a part of the family ever since he got here. He sits in her lap in the wheelchair as she does her schoolwork and snuggles her throughout the day.”
“I work from home and our daughter is homeschooled so he gets lots of attention all day long, every day,” Lori added.
“It is just cuteness overload here!”
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