Sigge
In March of 2021, whilst out trapping cats on Wilson Street, a cat the women from Sammy’s hadn’t seen before ventured into their trap desperate for food. Named Wilson after the street he was rescued on, Wilson was suffering greatly from hunger due to the infection in his teeth, sinuses and head. Once taken for veterinary treatment, severe end stage stomatitis was found as well as significant anemia, severe hypoalbuminemia and hyperglobulinemia. The vet said Wilson had a body score of 3 out of 9. He weighed only 3.3 kg, was full of mats and had been suffering for some time.
Wilson had a tattoo and was neutered, suggesting he was part of the large colony and had been trapped, neutered and released as a ‘feral’ cat. The wonderful women from Sammy’s chose to treat Wilson and not euthanize him as recommended. He had all but his bottom two canines extracted (two usually left for jaw stability) and I volunteered to foster him. Wilson and I spent many evenings sitting in his room, Wilson in his kennel and me reading beside him or talking to him, using the time to get him used to my presence as being something he could trust with my body language and voice.
After about a month and a name change to Sigge (meaning victory in Swedish), he would let me rub his chin and belly. I quickly learned that he LOVES armpit scratches. Every time I would go into his room he would make a little chirp or grunt and slowly would crawl out of his bed and jump on top of the kennel for chin rubs! Gradually I let him into a bigger room with a window, the fur on the blanket in the window sill let me know he was sneaking out for peeks. I started letting my other two cats visit Sigs one at a time after about 3 months of sharing their scents through toys and blankets. He showed so much interest in them and seemed so happy to see other cats (especially coming from a large colony). After that Sigge showed so much improvement with all of our presence and the other cats treated him so well that I started allowing supervised visits and slowly opened the door to the rest of the house.
Now Sigge lives a very relaxed life. He gets soft treats twice a day and sometimes will pounce on my bed for a quick cuddle before darting off. He is usually found on the couch curled up in his favorite blanket and routinely goes into full play mode with his toys at about 9:30 PM. It’s also not unusual to find my other toothless rescue, Ody, giving him a full bath while curled up together in the cat tree. He still won’t let me pick him up, and while trusting, still has his moments.
A recent trip to the vet to treat a respiratory flare up showed his weight has more than doubled! He is a very healthy boy now living the life he deserved from the day he was born because he was never feral - just a kind little soul left to fend for himself and struggle to survive, with the odds placed against him the day he was let loose after his neuter. A little love and assistance shows that no cat deserves to be given up on. My boys and I are very grateful to Sammy’s Forgotten Felines for rescuing Sigge and for everything they do for giving so many cats a loving home and a safe, warm, healthy future.
Wilson had a tattoo and was neutered, suggesting he was part of the large colony and had been trapped, neutered and released as a ‘feral’ cat. The wonderful women from Sammy’s chose to treat Wilson and not euthanize him as recommended. He had all but his bottom two canines extracted (two usually left for jaw stability) and I volunteered to foster him. Wilson and I spent many evenings sitting in his room, Wilson in his kennel and me reading beside him or talking to him, using the time to get him used to my presence as being something he could trust with my body language and voice.
After about a month and a name change to Sigge (meaning victory in Swedish), he would let me rub his chin and belly. I quickly learned that he LOVES armpit scratches. Every time I would go into his room he would make a little chirp or grunt and slowly would crawl out of his bed and jump on top of the kennel for chin rubs! Gradually I let him into a bigger room with a window, the fur on the blanket in the window sill let me know he was sneaking out for peeks. I started letting my other two cats visit Sigs one at a time after about 3 months of sharing their scents through toys and blankets. He showed so much interest in them and seemed so happy to see other cats (especially coming from a large colony). After that Sigge showed so much improvement with all of our presence and the other cats treated him so well that I started allowing supervised visits and slowly opened the door to the rest of the house.
Now Sigge lives a very relaxed life. He gets soft treats twice a day and sometimes will pounce on my bed for a quick cuddle before darting off. He is usually found on the couch curled up in his favorite blanket and routinely goes into full play mode with his toys at about 9:30 PM. It’s also not unusual to find my other toothless rescue, Ody, giving him a full bath while curled up together in the cat tree. He still won’t let me pick him up, and while trusting, still has his moments.
A recent trip to the vet to treat a respiratory flare up showed his weight has more than doubled! He is a very healthy boy now living the life he deserved from the day he was born because he was never feral - just a kind little soul left to fend for himself and struggle to survive, with the odds placed against him the day he was let loose after his neuter. A little love and assistance shows that no cat deserves to be given up on. My boys and I are very grateful to Sammy’s Forgotten Felines for rescuing Sigge and for everything they do for giving so many cats a loving home and a safe, warm, healthy future.
