PFA Success Story: Howie (now Ty)

Here is an awesome update about a very special little cat who survived a distemper scare. His former foster mom, Sabrina, caught up with his adopters and wanted to share this sweet success story. You can see how much he's grown since his days in foster care (bottom pic) and how content he is in his furr-ever home.

Howie was the shiest of the group of nine kittens we rescued back in the summer of 2009. Shortly after we moved them into foster homes, one of the kittens got very sick. He was diagnosed with distemper and, sadly, passed away. Distemper is deadly for kittens, so we rushed the rest of the litter to the vet. Miraculously, they all survived, and Howie was one of the lucky ones.

Howie wasn't just shy - he was terrified of people and other animals. He hid all the time, until my black cat, a PFA rescue named Levi,"adopted" him. Howie decided that Levi was his mom and actually started suckling on his chest! After about two months in foster care with his "mom" Levi, Howie was adopted by a really nice couple who were looking for a companion for their cat, who was very lonely after their other cat passed away. They changed Howie's name to Ty. While he was shy with people at first, Ty immediately cuddled up to his new cat buddy, Bear, another black cat. Ty even started suckling on Bear's chest, making him his new "mom"! He warmed up to his new family and became a cuddler, though he still is not a big fan of visitors!

Of all the cats and kittens I've fostered, I still think about Howie/Ty the most. He's a very special guy. When you nurse a kitten back to health after he almost died and then watch him be socialized by a male cat "mom" - well, you never forget that. So, I had to find out how he's doing - I emailed his new mom to find out.

This is what she wrote - and she sent pictures of Ty and his buddy Bear, too!

"Ty is really coming out of his shell with his family - visitors, not so much! Ty has his moments of total love and devotion and yes once every blue moon, he will suck on Bear's chest, however, it is more and more rare these days. I guess, he is growing up. Ty is a very funny little boy - he sits on the floor registers to warm up or sits in front of the fireplace, so I have been thinking of buying him some clothes. He is active and healthy and eats like a little piglet. Ty is an indoor cat and loves his toys and cat condo (my dad makes them) -all and all he is a spoiled baby but, that's who we are - we love our four legged babies very much!"

-Sabrina