Giving neglected and abandoned
cats and dogs a healthy future.
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Woody is now 13 1/2 years old, and we have been privileged to have him
as a barn cat for the last 7 1/2 years. Our former neighbor was moving
to
their outdoor cat and she couldn't take an outdoor cat with her.
Luckily, I met her for lunch and she told me about Woody. He just
happened to be hiding under a car when I pulled up in the driveway to
drop my neighbor off after our lunch. When I saw that he was orange, I
knew I had to save him! (We have a thing for orange cats).
Woody was a mess when we got him in early December, 2000. He was very
matted and terrified. But he loved people and loved being in the heated
feed room. He had previously lived in an unheated garage. Although we
would carry him all over the barn, into the hay loft and up to the
horses, Woody did not leave the feed room for 6 months. Tricia, our
barn manager, finally enticed him out with treats. He is one of the
most food motivated creature in the world. And yes, he is a great
mouser!
We always joked that Woody looked like a bowling ball on legs, but in
2002, Tricia noticed that he was drinking and urinating an inordinate
amount. She suspected he had diabetes, so we had him tested. He had
indeed developed diabetes so we started him on shots. All of us have
learned to give sub-cutaneous shots, which are actually very easy to
give. After a period of close monitoring (blood tests, which Tricia
could draw) we settled into a routine of one morning shot each day and
special DM food for diabetic cats. The DM food is high protein, low
carb, and is available at any vet's office.
Woody is not only a fixture at our barn, but is beloved by many of the
neighborhood walkers who walk by our farm each day, and stop to pet him.
He is the friendliest of cats, with an extremely soft coat, that he
keeps very clean. He is fearless around the horses, and follows Tricia
out to the paddocks when she turns the horses out in the morning. He
comes out to keep our daughter Sara company when she is teaching a
lesson and if there are people sitting on the viewing stand, he will
come and join them. The Minuteman ARC crew who cleans the stalls on
weekdays dote over Woody and give him lots of love and pets. Our horse
vet has privately told me that Woody is one of his top 5 favorite cats.
At first I thought I was doing a good deed by rescuing Woody, but it
turns out that we were the lucky ones, because he is one of the best
creatures who lives on our farm!