Our animals who need the most critical care are often the most rewarding adoptees.
Just like Solomon, they have so much to be grateful for—and they certainly don’t shy away from showing their appreciation.
When our fellow volunteer, Kathy, saw Solomon’s profile in January 2023, she felt a duty to help this senior feline in need.
Sure enough, Kathy truly has gone above and beyond for Solomon. It has now been a year since his official adoption and he is flourishing.
Kathy has shared their story with us:
“February 8, 2024 marked the one-year anniversary of our adoption of Solomon. My husband and I had always had a houseful of animals but we had said goodbye to our last furry friend at the age of 19 in 2021. We waited patiently for the completion of the build of our new house before restarting our new family.
One night I saw the pictures online of Solomon, scared and ratty from at least a year outdoors, until a kind soul brought him in out of -30 degree weather to the BC SPCA Shuswap Community Animal Centre.
The gentleness in his eyes as he lay all shaved down in his very own snuggler at the shelter did me in. We went to meet him the next day (January 22, 2023). He came right out of his snuggler to greet us and we took him home that day as a foster-to-adopt.
We were looking for a low-maintenance senior and Sol turned out to be anything but. Deemed palliative by one vet, we took a deep breath and decided to give him a home to live out the rest of his life in comfort.
The shelter let us take him ‘as is’. For as long as we would have him, that comfort required treating his immediate health issues.
It was a tough nine months getting his health stabilized. Sol was obese, an untreated diabetic requiring twice daily insulin shots, with major dental issues, uncontrolled oral infection from his bad teeth and an upper respiratory infection. He went on antibiotics for a long course, but we had to get his diabetes under control before he could tolerate the anesthetic for dental surgery.
Due to his ravaging hunger from the high blood sugars, he was ‘hangry’ for the first several months, often swatting us to get food. He seemed content to be inside but his infections made him grumpy and distant at times. He had trouble using his back legs on stairs, he didn’t naturally play, he didn’t groom and his litter box and paws were always a mess.
He’s been no cheap date, but this year has been a very rewarding journey. What a sweet, gentle sport Sol was through all the car rides to the vet, the poking, prodding, forced medications, hydration, surgeries and dieting.
Finally, all the conditions he had been dealing with are under control. He is at his ideal weight and his insulin dose has been cut in half. The vet now says he is a ‘normal, healthy diabetic cat’.
One year later, Sol is the very proud and happy lion king of our castle. With every week he purrs more loudly, starts more games with his ping pong balls and ‘farm animals’, gets more chatty and seeks our company more often, sitting between us while watching Netflix, sleeping with us every night.
He is perky and affectionate and takes the stairs at a run now, sometimes leaping off the third-last step in excitement.
We expect to have Sol around for many years to come and are delighted that each day brings a new piece of his character to light, that character I knew from that snuggler photo was in there all along. I call him my love muffin.
In the spring, we hope he will enjoy being a big brother to two little rescue kittens as we regrow our family.
As a longtime volunteer with the BC SPCA, I know firsthand their dedication to their animals. I am proud of and grateful for all they do to advocate for, rehabilitate and (re)home each and every deserving creature. A special thank you to Meranda at the Shuswap shelter.
To the lady who took Sol into that shelter, we know in our hearts it was you who kept him alive. We hope you get to see the result of your compassionate act—a very happy ending for all.”
Thank you, Kathy, for adopting Solomon and for pouring your heart into his rehabilitation. You have undoubtedly added years onto Solomon’s life. He will be endlessly grateful to you and your husband for your devotion and love. We’re thrilled to hear how Solomon is thriving in his retirement home with you.
Thank you as well for your years of committed volunteering to the BC SPCA. Volunteers like you make it possible for us to do all the work we do.
Have you adopted an animal from the BC SPCA and want to share your joy with others? Submit your adoption story!
Resources for cat guardians
How do I know if my cat loves me?
Why senior animals make great pets
