Shane Fitzgerald Kennedy Cat's Rescue Story, It Was Destiny!!!

For the last 10 years Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d lived with my aunt and her fat cat Lady, an all black domestic shorthair. Fast forward to October 09…I move out of my auntâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s house in to my own apt with my daughter. I knew from the JUMP I was going to get a forever kitten, no one was going to make me give this kitten up, which went on a lot in my life. I looked online at the different shelter sites in my area and I said after Christmas I was going to get a kitten. I already knew what I would get, a male black and white tuxedo kitten, just like my other kittens that I no longer had Pietrie Alcom Cat (RIP) and Khalil Dru-Leyano Cat. His name would be Shane Fitzgerald Kennedy Cat. I came to this name after Ted Kennedy died and it was constant Kennedy coverage on the news. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve always been partial to Jack and Bobby and all they stood for anyway. Well about 3 weeks ago I was walking in to my auntâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s house for a visit and bam…on her porch was a Red Tabby kitten. SO I FREAKED! Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve always been terrified of stray cats and because of my research on cats as of late I knew what a feral kitten/cat was and I was even more afraid. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not an animal person…Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m a cat person and this is only as of the last 10 years. I really am kind of afraid of anyoneâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s cat except my own! Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m getting a little better with it though. So I yell and yell and yell for this kitten to get off my auntâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s porch, but he just sits there. My neighbor comes out and the Red Tabby runs over to her and rubs her leg. I ask her about the kitten and she said sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d seen him around the neighborhood wanting to come in to peopleâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s houses the last couple of days. Her grandson wanted it but she said he couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t keep it. So as I run in my house still kind of scared of this kitten, the Red Tabby comes back over to my porch and looks at me through the front glass door like “Why arenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t you opening the door for meâ€. I felt soooo sorry for him meowing at glass door. So I go to bring him some cat food and some milk out on the porch and he goes at it. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t even tell…but I just feel this kitten is a boy. So he rubs up agents me and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m like wait…he may not feral after all! My aunt suggest that I take the kitten home, I suggest she get her mind right! Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not taking in a stray, possibly feral cat. But man…I kept looking at this kitten and my heart just melted. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t even like orange and white cats, they scare me!! My aunt convinced me that God put this kitten in my life since I was talking about getting a kitten anyway. So I go out to check on how heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s eating and the food is now gone and I give him some more…and I call him Shane. So we put Lady in the basement and I open the front door and this kitten just walks right on in…rubs some stuff with his glands and plops down right next to my aunt on the couch for a nap. I go to Target to get some supplies and a cat carrier…I take Shane Fitzgerald Kennedy Cat to my apartment. I gave him a bath once we got home and he was home…in a forever home. This happened on a Monday and by Friday he was at the vet getting a check up, his shots, a Revolution treatment, ear cleaning and neutered. I had to take care of my baby! They couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tell me how old he is, other than that he is young but Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m guessing no more then 5-6 months because he still has kitten features and he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t spray at all. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s such a baby! I gave him my deceased motherâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s birthday of June 5th. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s also an American Domestic Shorthair according to the vet I ordered his tags and his personalized collar…This was MY cat and he wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t going anywhere. I came to the conclusion that he was in no way a feral kitten. He had to have been lost or abandoned. He was too use to human contact; he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t hide at my apt or my auntâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s house. He had no traits of a feral kitten. He let me pick him up the first night and tolerated his bath very well, he was relatively clean too, his white wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t all filthy and he wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t flea ridden. I checked craigslist to see if someone has posted about a lost kitten earlier on, but nothing so I had to keep him. Shane is totally spoiled! I mean much more then my auntâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s cat is. Lady has what she needs, Shane has that and then some. He has his own like mad expensive scratching post, bed, Booda dome w/step litter box, personalized collar & tag, the cutest feeding mat, toys, kitten milk…this is like normal stuff for a cat person, but for my boyfriend who isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t…heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s like “Why are you buying all this expensive stuff for him!!†I just want him to be happy and he is! Even with his own bed Shane sleeps RIGHT in the bed with me! After having an older cat for so long itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s so cute to see him do kitten things. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s also much more clingy then Lady ever was. Shane just wants to be on me or near me. We had to beg Lady to be stroked, she is so like in her own world! Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m soooo happy I decided to take this stray in! Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just part of me and my daughterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s life and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to do all I can to see him live a long happy, spoiled rotten life! I tell my daughter that Shane is her brother. I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t set out to get a cat that Monday while I was visiting my aunt, it was destiny that he was put in my life!
~*TyRose*~

Good for you! I've always said we don't choose our cats, they choose us.

It sounds like you've learned a lot too. Feral cats are just regular cats who don't happen to be very fond of people. And stray cats can become feral very quickly, so you've saved Shane from a hard life.

BTW - go easy on the milk - many cats are lactose intolerant and it may give him the runs.

Originally Posted by Shane's Mommie

My aunt convinced me that God put this kitten in my life ...

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Right. Im sure it is so.

You were afraid of strays and of ferals. Now you have got to learn you dont need to be afraid of all strays. (although some caution may be wise).

It is my belief your learning, your destiny will not be fully filled before you also do give home to a (semi) feral cat. Not now at once, but some steps into the future when the thoughs and insigts have matured, and you also learned more about all the how´s helping and adopting of the semi ferales.

Especielly as most cats do prefer to also have a cat pal. So probably Shane Kennedy too. So with time you will discover there is a need for one extra cat in your family.

Dont worry, it will be a lot easier to foster this incoming semiferal having already a friendly resident.
After awhile you will have two resident cats and two furry friends of yours and your daughter.


Good luck, and much happiness with your furry friends!

for you!
Aw, don't be afraid of the orange kitties, it's just fur! All cats have gotten a bad rep, black cats= bad luck, calicos= bad atitude, the list goes on.
Good for you overcoming your fear. Cats are good things!
One of the best feelings ever is having a former stray/ ferral/ forgotten cat curl up with you and snooze, in comfort, with no fear, It is just the best!

Originally Posted by Ondine

BTW - go easy on the milk - many cats are lactose intolerant and it may give him the runs.

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Funny you should mention that! I JUST found out through my sister and research on cat sites that cats really aren't supposed to have cow's milk. I'd been giving Shane 2%(which is what we drink) since the day I found him, he hasn't had any bad reactions to it as far as the runs but I don't want him to get sick from it. I took my sister's advice and Sunday I went to Petco and got him the milk that's supposed to be made for cats...well he hates it. Doesn't drink it. So I did half of the kitten milk and half 2% and he drank some of it. I think I'm going to try to wean him on that by taking away as much as the 2% as I can a little at a time until it's all Kitten milk. I know he doesn't need the milk anymore really, but he seemed to enjoy the 2%. It was always gone in like 2 seconds every time I would put it out.

I wouldn't put getting another cat past me...but I got to have a bigger apt or a house! Shane's stuff in already taking over the dining room and living room.

I guess because all I've ever had was black, grey and tuxedo cats that other colors just scared me, I know it's crazy. Before Lady had her second litter tuxedos scared me too. Two great big stray cats, I named them Jerome and Bear, used to stalk my porch trying to get Lady. I know she got pregnant by one of those cats! Two of her 4 kittens were tuxedos!

I am so blessed to have Shane, I hate to think what would have happened to him if he'd been outside when we had that blizzard on the east coast last week

As he had eaten cows milk withouth any difficulties, he is apparently one of those who manage. At least so far!

If he doesnt like this cat-milk, you can use human low lactose milk (it is lactose they have difficult to copy with).

Goat milk is also very useful for cats, even sick cats or kittens.


Yes, you got him just in time, both for him and for you.