On March 3rd, we were contacted by a concerned family member of the people who owned Lily and Cyrus. We immediately put out a plea for help:
"CALLING ALL CAT LOVERS: Cyrus and Lily need our help! They are no longer allowed in their home must find new living arrangements immediately! Cyrus is blind and he depends on Lily to be his eyes, so they must stay together. They are not spayed/neutered, but we have volunteered to provide vouchers to have them fixed. This is a very time sensitive situation for these cats, and we are very worried about them. We are hoping to find foster care or a permanent home. They are located in Kern County, California. Please message us if you can help. Share to spread the word." -Faceboook post, March 3rd.
Nearly 100 people shared our post, and by the end of the day, we had volunteers for transport, foster care, and an offer from a Persian rescue to take them in. But, the next day, we received an update from the family member. We shared the bad news:
"The family who has Cyrus and Lily has suddenly had a change of heart. They are keeping the cats. They had put them outside and "hoped they would not come back," and actively tried to find a means of rehoming them, but that has all changed. They say they are going to start taking care of them and get them into see a vet. We are offering vouchers to help with cost of spay and neuter and to encourage them to follow through. (They have had three litters.) They have our contact information in case something changes again. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help and adopt these cats." -Facebook post, March 4th.
We did not give up. We continued to work with the family. We offered vouchers, which they did not accept, but we did encourage them to contact us if anything changed. We were kind, and patient. And finally, on March 19th, we successfully moved the cats from their home to Helping Persian Cats, a wonderful rescue down south. We updated our followers:
"Do you remember Cyrus and Lily? The blind cat and his partner who helps him get around? Well, we have some good news. We did not give up on working with the family. Patience pays off in these situations! They decided after a lot of discussion to relinquish the cats, and we picked them up today. They were transported down south to Helping Persian Cats where they are getting immediate vet care. A very special thank you to Margot and her son for staying up late and driving the cats down south. They are kitty heroes! And of course, thank you to HPC for graciously taking these kind souls into their rescue." -Facebook post, March 19th
Their story is proof that patience and kindness are so very important in the rescue world.
We did not give up. We continued to work with the family. We offered vouchers, which they did not accept, but we did encourage them to contact us if anything changed. We were kind, and patient. And finally, on March 19th, we successfully moved the cats from their home to Helping Persian Cats, a wonderful rescue down south. We updated our followers:
"Do you remember Cyrus and Lily? The blind cat and his partner who helps him get around? Well, we have some good news. We did not give up on working with the family. Patience pays off in these situations! They decided after a lot of discussion to relinquish the cats, and we picked them up today. They were transported down south to Helping Persian Cats where they are getting immediate vet care. A very special thank you to Margot and her son for staying up late and driving the cats down south. They are kitty heroes! And of course, thank you to HPC for graciously taking these kind souls into their rescue." -Facebook post, March 19th
Their story is proof that patience and kindness are so very important in the rescue world.