In every animal shelter, some pets are adopted quickly and others, for a variety of reasons, are not. Shelter pets that are more outgoing or personable often get adopted right away, but those who have medical conditions or who are shy and quiet are sometimes overlooked. At City of San Antonio Animal Care Services, a deaf cat named Cali was one of these lost souls.
Everything changed for Cali when Bridgid Staub walked into the shelter and asked to adopt the cat who had been there the longest. "I asked which cat had been there the longest, and came home with a deaf, toothless, senior lovebug," Staub said. It was love at first sight for both cat and woman.
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Cali was brought to the shelter as a stray. She was deaf and toothless, and based on her examination, the shelter veterinarian concluded that Cali was a senior cat. "She was a beautiful calico cat with huge green eyes. When she was let out of her cage, she immediately let out a very loud and different sounding 'meow.' This made me smile for the first time in a while," Staub said.
Staub knew that Cali was the cat she wanted, so she adopted Cali and brought her home. "She didn't sleep at all the first night. She was so hyper-vigilant and anxious about her new surroundings," Staub explained. "The next morning it was as if a light had been switched on. She curled up on my lap while I was on the couch and fell asleep."
Cali seemed to understand that she was now in a loving, forever home, and she loved her new surroundings. "Ever since then, she has slept through the night (right next to me and sometimes sharing my pillow) and has been the biggest cuddlebug," Staub said.
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So who saved whom? Staub believes she knows the answer to that question: "She brings so much joy into my life and I am so thankful that I decided to adopt [...] This is so cliche, but so very true for me... I may have saved her life by adopting her, but she has very much saved my life as well!"