My name is Igor and I wanted to tell you my story. This story starts out sad and it ends happily. SCAS was called to an emergency hoarding situation that was horrifying to say the least. I was one of 27 cats living in this filthy home. One day we had several heroes walk into our house to save us and our lives were forever changed. The day they found me I had an upper respiratory infection which caused my eyes to weep. When my rescuers saved me they didn’t know that not only that I had weepy eyes, but I was crying for love and attention. Soon my brothers and sisters found ourselves being escorted to SCAS for check-ups, flea treatments and anything else we needed. My time at SCAS started in a quarantine state and I was completely shut down. I never knew a loving hand so I would hiss and scratch anyone who tried to love or care for me. After I was released from quarantine I was sent to spend my days at the adoption center in a small cage and I would not leave the shelf and was still very angry. Then a glorious day in June happened when I got released into a foster home. Was I a nice guy when I got there? I will admit I was not on my best behavior but the foster family didn’t want to give up on me. The first two months I lived there I would not come out from their dark basement. At least it was summer because it was like living in an air conditioned building which was fine with me. The only way I would eat was when they slid my bowl across the room to me and leave. One day I ventured up the steps to explore the house. The people were surprised to see me, but they stayed still so I would enter the room. This is where I found my new best friend, Doug, the orange cat. I felt that after hiding for two months and giving out many war wounds, that maybe I was ready to be a nice guy. At first when I came upstairs I would only stare at these people and sit on a pizza box. My foster mom was promoting me all over the place to try and find me a home but no one was coming forward. Seven months and I was still a foster cat with no hope of a home. My happiest day finally came on Christmas morning 2016 when I received my adoption papers under the tree stating I was my dad’s Christmas gift! My life has forever been changed and now I participate in regular photo shoots from being all natural to wearing a suit. Also, I have two sisters (cat and dog), a brother (Doug), a mom and a dad. I knew where my home was before my family did. Life can’t get any better than it is now. I am proof that with a little time, love and a pizza box a broken heart can be healed and a shut down animal can become a gift for all who know them.
