James

I have been a volunteer at Tails to Tell for nearly 2 years. Over that time, I have seen my fair share of cats and kittens who have come to us in pretty dire straits. James was one such case in the Summer of 2020. The first time I saw him, I started to cry. I was told that the team wasn’t sure whether this little orange and white fella was going to pull thru.  A cat should never be as skinny as James was when he arrived; I could feel every rib when I picked him up. His tail was all bloodied and scabbed. It looked as though his tail had been caught in a barbed wire fence or something that shredded it all the way down to nothing. This is likely why he was so skinny: he got caught and could not free himself. Finally, he had these wheezing sounds thrown in with uber wet sneezes producing a greenish – grey, sticky, yucky phlegm. We now lovingly refer to James’ sounds as his ‘snarffles’ as he continues to wheeze to this day.

Despite his condition, James has always been a friendly little guy. I remember opening the cage in the quarantine room to feed and pet this new arrival. James climbed right on up into my arms and then fell fast asleep. I did not manage to get much cleaning done that day as James slept the morning away. I did not want to put him down. As he snuggled up against my chest, I felt the tug and I knew that James was going home with me once he was better.

During about 2 months of care at the Shelter, James was stabilized with various medications.  James was ready to leave the shelter and travel to his furever home and meet his 2 new brothers and 2 new sisters! So began James’ immediate love affair with Lily: our fluffy black female cat. To this day, wherever you find Lily, James is not too far behind. As James was technically still a kitten, the other cats were suddenly tossed into ‘kitten – land’ as James cannot resist for very long before he is chasing and playing with the older cats.

James’ is a very open – minded cat. His favorite TV show is ‘Hudson & Rex’ and he can often be found watching intently as Rex, a german shepherd police dog, chases down criminals.  In October we will celebrate one year with our little marmalade wonder. My husband was leery of a 5^th cat, but now he can’t imagine our house without James. Most nights, James elects to sleep with us. Usually, he is snuggled up on my pillow (or head) and he is happiest when he can also manage to get me to cuddle an arm around him as well.

James snores. James loves to ‘snarffle’ on my face while I try to sleep. James stalks shadows at night and wakes us up at all hours. We think he is perfect.

Thank you Tails to Tell for bringing so much James love into our lives!

To help us with the veterinary and medicine costs associated with helping cats like James, please consider making a donation to the Shelter. 100% of all donated funds go directly into animal care.