Rescuing Lance. A Happily Ever After.
We wanted to share the story of HSP Alumni Lance and a recent update sent by his mom. So many animals come to us with unknown histories and/or are cases of neglect or abuse. We truly believe every animal deserves a second chance, and even a third or fourth chance. Lance came to us back in Dec. 2019. Lance was FIV positive and had some issues with biting and scratching when interacting with people. He was soon adopted in early Jan. 2020 but ended up being re-surrendered to us in February.
Sometimes adoption matches don’t work out and some of our kids get returned to us. But we don’t give up on them. We’ll work with them to correct a behavior, develop trust in humans, whatever it takes, all the while continuing to search for just the right home for them. Lance was no exception and we want to share with you his happily ever after story.
This is truly a story about rescue and love. Lance’s mom shows us what a safe home with an accepting, patient and loving parent can do to change an animal’s life.
From Lance’s mom:
“I wanted you to know that Lance is doing really great. I know you had him there for so long and would want to know he is happy. He is the absolute best cat. He loves his schedule and morning rituals. Lance is almost always sitting wherever I am, such a great companion. He has lots of windows to look through for hunting, and he plays hard. He loves to climb the cat tree and rule over everything or sometimes sleep there. Lance sleeps with me every night, which I love. If I sleep late, he just hangs out and goes with the flow.
“He is so polite and comes to me when I call him. We have gotten very attached to one another.“
The young lady in the picture is my niece. She is the only person who has been in my home since Lance has been here. I didn’t know how he would socialize with her, as you can see, they got along great. He jumped up and sat right on her lap on the sofa.
Lance has stopped biting and scratching. Sometimes I see him start to want to pop me, but it is so half-hearted, he just puts his paw back down. It’s almost funny. The behavioral specialist that you referred me to was a great help. She explained that Lance has a strong hunting instinct, but he never actually gets to complete the hunting cycle, because he never gets to catch anything. That sounds frustrating to me too! She taught me to how to help him hunt. After he “hunts” through the window, I get him playing with his string toy. Then he “catches” it, and I give him a treat. He gets to hunt, catch it, and eat it. Completing the hunt cycle for Lance. His frustration level dropped so fast and I get to see what a cool creature he is.
“Lance is so smart and earnest. It is an honor to be with him!“
Also, as long as I am paying attention to his mood, I can pet him quite a lot. He likes his ears, the spot between his eyes, and under his chin rubbed. I can pet his back, for a short period of time. But no belly! Which is hard for me because his tummy is so cute. Lately, he has been putting his paw on my hand, so I do the same, and he is fine with it. I don’t know what that means, but it is so sweet.
It was a tough start for Lance and me.
He did like to bite and scratch. A couple of times he attacked my ankles. I don’t know how I would have done without all of your expertise and support. Without your help, I would have been lost. He got sick about 5 weeks after I adopted him. The vet did X-rays, and he had bronchitis. Poor guy. I thought he was having dry heaves, but I filmed him on my phone, and the vet said it looked more like coughing, hence the X-rays. They gave him medicine and he got well very quickly and he’s been healthy ever since. Looking back, I imagine his entire system was stressed from a new home, etc.
So now here we are, both happy and grateful to be together. He was worth every bit of the challenge. I don’t know how to thank you for the work you do. I appreciate you deeply.
If Lance’s story has touch your heart and you would like to help more cats like Lance, please consider donating to help us rescue more at risk and vulnerable animal donate now.
