The Story of Wonder
Three cats – an adult male, an adult female, and a young kitten – were abandoned in an empty (and trashed) apartment in Jackson. The owner of the property found them and brought them to CHS in May of this year. No way to know exactly how long they were in the apartment alone. All three were hungry and on the skinny side, had fleas and other parasites, and the kitten, estimated to be about 6 weeks old, was very, very sick.
It was determined that the kitten had a severe case of the Herpes virus. How it was expressed in the kitten was in overall poor body condition and extreme damage and pain in the kitten’s crusty, massively irritated eyes. The kitten was named Wonder, the mom was named Stevie Rose and the adult male cat was named Shane.
Shane was neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and brought back to health pretty quickly. He was just a few years old and was super loving and completely unflappable. This cat just loved people and was very friendly. He was the first to be adopted. His adopting family adores him.
Stevie Rose recovered easily and was spayed, vaccinated and microchipped once she stopped lactating. Mother and kitten were kept together the entire time they were here at CHS.
It is unknown how Wonder contracted the Herpes virus. Weeks went by with our staff nursing little Wonder through his misery with his crusty, irritated eyes. It turned out to be a long, tedious process with Wonder on antibiotics to fight the ravages of the Herpes virus. We didn’t know for a long time whether Wonder would have any vision left after his ordeal. Although we hoped for the best it became apparent that Wonder’s sight would always be somewhat compromised from the illness. He did seem to be able to see something, but it was difficult to determine how much he could actually see.
There was an angel working the background while all this drama around Wonder was going on. Sue Lovell—a longtime volunteer here at CHS—was aware of this story. Sue had a close friend in Idaho named Emily that she thought was the perfect adopter for both Stevie Rose and Wonder. Emily had only recently been looking for a new cat. With Sue’s encouragement, Emily first saw the photos of Wonder on CHS’s Facebook page. The kitten immediately reminded her of her beloved cat who had recently passed away at age 22.
Through Sue’s help, Emily started getting regular updates on Wonder’s progress and availability from CHS’s Adoption Counselor, Karen. Almost immediately, Emily made it clear to Karen that she wanted to adopt both Wonder and Stevie Rose when and if they became available for adoption. So how do you get two cats to Idaho from Jackson, Michigan? Emily works for the airlines. The cats would have their own seats on the flight home!
The dialog between adopter Emily and Karen was started in May, just days after the cats had arrived here at CHS. Emily and Karen texted each other regularly for updates on Wonder’s progress. Emily called Karen at least once a week as well. Near the very end of June, it was finally deemed safe to release Wonder and his mamma for adoption to Emily.
Emily was thrilled at the news! She made arrangements to come to Jackson a day early so she could have lunch with Karen before the adoption. The very next day both cats were adopted by Emily. They all flew First Class back to Boise, Idaho.
Of course we’ve heard from Emily since the adoption. It appears that Wonder can see quite well now. His eyes have healed to be better than expected. Both cats are adjusting well to their new home, and Emily just loves them both. We love happy endings!