I was looking into Newspaper archives and came across this heartbreaking story. Mindy finally found a loving person to care for her. But in the end, she needed another new home. Poor kitty I wish I could take her. Her story is below.
Mindy (below), a cross between a Siamese and an Abyssinian,has spent most of her life in a cage.
Fearful feline needs home
Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no wonder Mindy the cat is traumatized. The seven-year-old registered occicat, a special breed that is a cross between Siamese and Abyssinian, spent most of her seven years in a tiny cage, forced to have litter after litter of kittens in a Burnaby kitten mill until she was rescued in 1999.
When the illegal breeding mill was discovered, Mindy was living with 38 other cats and kittens. A local veterinarian farmed the cats out to other vets and shelters and eventually Mindy found a home with Lois Vicens, a senior who lives in a subsidized housing complex in Gastown. Mindy gobbled the food offered, but it was months before the fearful feline allowed her new owner to pet her.
Vicens was sure pets were allowed in her housing complex, since the woman downstairs owned a small dog. What she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know was that the woman was locked in a battle with the buildingâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s managers over the dog and eventually had to move out. In December, 15 months after Mindy came to stay, the managers discovered the cat. "I made the big mistake of ordering some kitty litter to be delivered," said Vicens, who doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t own a car. "When I went to pick it up in the rotunda, someone saw me and complained."
After she was told to get rid of Mindy by March 1 or lose the apartment, Vicens contacted Powerpets of B.C., an agency that lobbies for pets to have access to accommodation and transportation.
She said Powerpets encouraged her to take legal action, but she was sidelined by a lengthy illness in January. Instead, she worked to find a home for Mindy. Last week, a couple in their 30s agreed to take her, and Vicens taxied to their house for an interview and inspection.
"It looked okay, so I agreed to let her go," she said. "I packed up all her toys and dishes and said my good-byes."
That night, she received an angry phone call from the woman saying that Mindy had bit her husband when he tried to pull the cat from her hiding spot. Vicens explained that the cat was fearful and traumatized by the move.
"I told them, ‘Leave her alone for two weeks and sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll come around.â€[emoji]8482[/emoji]"
Instead, the next day, the woman left a message that she was taking the cat to a vet to be put to sleep after a second biting incident. "I grabbed the phone book and called every vet in town but she wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t there. Finally my vet suggested I call the SPCA. I did and she was there."
Vicens raced down to the shelter and paid $30 to rescue Mindy again. "The SPCA offered to waive the fee," she said. "But I paid it anyway because I was so relieved to have her back safely."
She said Mindy was in rough shape by the time she got home, but is recovering from her ordeal. Unfortunately Vicens is back to square one and now has a week to find her cat a new home.
Mindy (below), a cross between a Siamese and an Abyssinian,has spent most of her life in a cage.
Fearful feline needs home
Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no wonder Mindy the cat is traumatized. The seven-year-old registered occicat, a special breed that is a cross between Siamese and Abyssinian, spent most of her seven years in a tiny cage, forced to have litter after litter of kittens in a Burnaby kitten mill until she was rescued in 1999.
When the illegal breeding mill was discovered, Mindy was living with 38 other cats and kittens. A local veterinarian farmed the cats out to other vets and shelters and eventually Mindy found a home with Lois Vicens, a senior who lives in a subsidized housing complex in Gastown. Mindy gobbled the food offered, but it was months before the fearful feline allowed her new owner to pet her.
Vicens was sure pets were allowed in her housing complex, since the woman downstairs owned a small dog. What she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know was that the woman was locked in a battle with the buildingâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s managers over the dog and eventually had to move out. In December, 15 months after Mindy came to stay, the managers discovered the cat. "I made the big mistake of ordering some kitty litter to be delivered," said Vicens, who doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t own a car. "When I went to pick it up in the rotunda, someone saw me and complained."
After she was told to get rid of Mindy by March 1 or lose the apartment, Vicens contacted Powerpets of B.C., an agency that lobbies for pets to have access to accommodation and transportation.
She said Powerpets encouraged her to take legal action, but she was sidelined by a lengthy illness in January. Instead, she worked to find a home for Mindy. Last week, a couple in their 30s agreed to take her, and Vicens taxied to their house for an interview and inspection.
"It looked okay, so I agreed to let her go," she said. "I packed up all her toys and dishes and said my good-byes."
That night, she received an angry phone call from the woman saying that Mindy had bit her husband when he tried to pull the cat from her hiding spot. Vicens explained that the cat was fearful and traumatized by the move.
"I told them, ‘Leave her alone for two weeks and sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll come around.â€[emoji]8482[/emoji]"
Instead, the next day, the woman left a message that she was taking the cat to a vet to be put to sleep after a second biting incident. "I grabbed the phone book and called every vet in town but she wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t there. Finally my vet suggested I call the SPCA. I did and she was there."
Vicens raced down to the shelter and paid $30 to rescue Mindy again. "The SPCA offered to waive the fee," she said. "But I paid it anyway because I was so relieved to have her back safely."
She said Mindy was in rough shape by the time she got home, but is recovering from her ordeal. Unfortunately Vicens is back to square one and now has a week to find her cat a new home.
