A stray cat leaned into a kind person and stole her heart after a month of trying to keep warm with whatever he could find.
Eva of Whiskers-A-GoGo, a Brooklyn cat rescue, received a plea for help from a concerned community member, Elizabeth, about an abandoned cat in front of her building.
“This very sweet cat stays huddled down to the ground near the trash area. My neighbor says [he] has been outside in the cold for about a month,” Elizabeth shared in the email. “I sense [he] desperately wants love and snuggles.”
While living outside, the cat used whatever he could to stay warm. He was sweet and gentle, quietly trying to survive each day.
Elizabeth wasn’t able to take the cat home due to a family member being severely allergic, but she couldn’t leave the cat out there without help.
With detailed information, including the cat’s whereabouts, timing, and disposition, Eva contacted her friend, Dina, an experienced animal rescuer who lives about two blocks away.
The building is a large apartment complex and had massive piles of trash bags and other junk in front of it,” Dina told Love Meow.
Upon arrival, she noticed a paper plate and a towel someone had left for the cat, but he was nowhere in sight. Dina opened a can of food, hoping to lure him close, but to no avail. She left the food there and contacted Elizabeth.
About two hours later, Dina received a message from Elizabeth with a photo of the cat sleeping snugly inside a discarded old mattress.
“I went back with a cat carrier and saw him eating the food I had put out earlier. I said hi to him. He meowed and then ran to the curb away from me.”
Dina slowly approached him, got down to his level, and offered her hand. The cat relaxed his guard, scooted towards her, and allowed touch.
He was lovingly named Charlie DreamCloud (the mattress) and left the streets for good that day. “Little did he know he missed a torrential rain, and even his blue mattress wouldn’t protect him if he were still outside,” Eva added.
The plan was to have Charlie stay with Dina temporarily until Eva secured a foster home for him, or so they thought.
“When Charlie was first brought home, he was visibly relieved to be indoors again,” Dina said. “He settled in very quickly. He’s an older gentleman, estimated to be around 7 or 8 years old. He’s very friendly, talkative, and loves pets and cuddles.”
A few days later, Eva went to pick up Charlie. As Dina handed him over, a bittersweet feeling washed over her. She offered to take him back anytime he needed a place to stay.
After a vet visit, Charlie required more tests, but there wasn’t any opening at the vet’s office until the following week. Dina jumped at the chance to help.
“Dina fell in love with him and kept asking and offering to take him to her vet sooner, so we brought him back to her,” Eva told Love Meow.
The second Charlie stepped out of his carrier, Dina knew he was home. “Eva was going to find a foster for him since I already have a lot of cats, but it only seemed right for him to just stay here,” Dina shared.
Charlie is being treated for a heart murmur and hypertension. “I brought him a little kitty blood pressure cuff to monitor his BP.”
The sweet boy spends most of his day sleeping on the comfy couch. When he wakes up, he leans into Dina for snuggles. He’s found his forever home with his rescuer.
Now, Charlie shares the bed with his mom and makes the cutest biscuits every day with the most dreamy look on his face.
Share this story with your friends. More on Charlie on Instagram @speck.tacular and Whiskers-A-GoGo @whiskers_agogo.
