Kathy, who happens to be the the executive director of Paws for Hope, wasn’t looking to adopt when she and her young daughter Maya came to VOKRA’s Operations Centre. But then she met Cinnabar and fell in love with the sweet calico cat. Kathy remembers how after meeting each other, Maya and Cinnabar “automatically took to one another and I thought maybe this would be a great opportunity to foster. She was so playful, despite her condition.” (You can actually watch a video of this very meeting right here!)

Cinnabar had a rough life and lived for an extended time on the streets before being rescued.  On her arrival at VOKRA she was in a pitiful state; shivering, emaciated, dehydrated, filthy and smelly.  Her tail was infected, part of her lower lip was missing and she was so tightly matted her fur was pulling out by the roots and damaging her skin.  It took hours for VOKRA co-founders Karen and Maria to gently and carefully remove the mats and they were horrified and heartbroken to find maggots living inside.  Finally shaved and cleaned up, she had an odd owl-like appearance and was therefore named after the Cinnabar Owl.  It was not immediately known if Cinnabar would survive so she was temporarily placed in a recovery kennel.

It was just a few days later when Kathy and her family met Cinnabar and agreed to take her home as a foster kitty. Cinnabar quickly fit right in with her new canine foster siblings, and with Chili in particular (who was also a rescue). Kathy knew then that Cinnabar had to become a permanent member of the family. “We had [Chili] for three years and had never seen her act like this,” said Kathy. “Chili was running around tail wagging, playing chase with Cinnabar. It was amazing.”

Kathy’s partner Jules is Cinnabar’s dad and she loves to spend time sitting on his shoulder.

Now enjoying life with her forever family, Cinnabar spends her days playing with her canine siblings (or trying to get them to play). She even has a new best friend – a pit bull named Lucy! “When we travel, Cinnabar stays with my friend and her dog Lucy,” said Kathy. “Lucy and Cinnabar love each other and play all day long.  Both of them are always sad after Cinnabar comes home.”

Cinnabar brings much joy to Kathy’s family and she remarks how “everyone who visits loves her.”

Would you like to share your Happy Tail? Email us at [email protected].

Post written by Kim C.

We love getting updates from adopters telling us how their kids have bonded with their new furry buddies. We love it when kids and their parents volunteer for VOKRA and help us care for our cats and kittens. Some kids take their compassion a step further and opt to fundraise for VOKRA! We’ll be sharing stories about some of these compassionate kids here on the blog in the months to come.

This wonderful little girl declined gifts for her birthday this year, asking that guests help her make a donation to VOKRA instead. We were delighted to have her visit us at the Operations Centre, have her photo taken in our “Birthday Chair” and see how her generous $70 donation is going to help cats and kittens.

She even got to meet Cinnabar who, of course, allowed herself to be cuddled and admired. (Look for an upcoming blog post about our Cinnabar!)

Thank you so much for supporting VOKRA and for being a compassionate kid!