It’s typically a long and winding route for older animals in need of adoption. Because so many potential adopters are seeking younger animals, such as kittens, it’s especially difficult for a senior to find a home when his age and a medical condition work against him.
This was the case with one cat in a Michigan high-kill shelter. Apollo had been at the shelter for two months and was still waiting to be adopted. He had yet to be put down since the employees felt sorry for him, but it wouldn’t belong.
That’s when Nancy Hutchinson noticed him and intervened. She is the founder of the Michigan Cat Rescue Foundation. As a result, she took him out of the shelter and placed him in foster care with the goal of finding him the perfect family.
Once upon a time, he had a lovely family. His human, on the other hand, was an elderly woman who loved and cared for him, but she was sadly placed in a nursing facility.
Hutchinson’s health began to gradually deteriorate after bringing Apollo home. He became sick with an upper respiratory infection, pneumonia, and a serious eye infection.
She took him to the veterinarian right away, but none of the remedies seemed to be working. His eye eventually did rupture.
The senior cat became a senior cat with just one eye, making his adoption prospects even more difficult.
“I recall a lady approaching him at an adoption event one time in particular. He was sitting in a cage when she told him he was ugly to his face. Because he dropped his head down, I feel he understood her. I could see he was upset, and it made me cry.”
The founder of the rescue organization decided to take serious steps to locate the adorable boy a home. She chose to pay for a Facebook adoption post that was boosted.
The post eventually reached almost 130,000 individuals, and applications began to flood in. Despite her wish to see Apollo adopted, she conducted extensive vetting to ensure that he would be placed in the finest possible family.
“Who we give our pets to is very important to us. We want to make sure they stay inside and are adopted by a lovely family who will look after them. Otherwise, we’re wasting our time.”
She came to a complete halt when she noticed the application from a woman named Denise.
“I’m not sure what it was, but I started crying and thought to myself, ‘This is it.”
She was in her fifties, financially secure, and living alone when she fell head over heels with Apollo.
After two years, the lucky cat has finally found his forever home, and he is overjoyed. He sleeps next to her at night and greets her at the front door when she returns home from work.
“Like Apollo, there are a lot of cats who need someone to come along with them. They aren’t flawless in appearance, but they have wonderful hearts and souls and deserve a second shot.”
