In December 2023, when our founder saved Sabrina, a fluffy black senior cat, from a local shelter, she asked to be kept in the loop about the status of Sabrina’s siblings, because LYFF doesn’t like to leave family behind. When LYFF returned to the shelter in January 2024, it was to the news that, while most of Sabrina’s littermates had been adopted, the shelter faced a challenge with one boy, a black cat they’d named Branch.
At seven years old, Branch had never had an easy time in life. He and his siblings—littermates or housemates, we’re honestly not sure—had been willingly surrendered to the shelter from an overcrowded home. That meant he probably went from being overstimulated in a house to being overstimulated in a kennel or small isolation room. In fact, Branch was isolated at the shelter because they didn’t think he’d do well with other cats and weren’t sure he could deal with much sensory input.
And then there were his medical issues. Branch had terrible tooth problems that needed to be addressed—four dental procedures later, he’s finally got a healthy mouth. He also had diabetes that had gone untreated and unchecked for no one knows how long. While he wasn’t demonstrably ill at the time, given how out of whack his bloodwork was, LYFF got to him in the nick of time. But all that came after January, because that’s when we saw him at the shelter, learned that he’d gone unadopted and unwanted for months, and became determined to save him from imminent euthanasia.
NOTE: None of what we describe is meant to criticize any shelter or humane society who have to do as much as they can with the resources they have. Shelters don’t have resources to medicate diabetic cats, and they don’t have resources to keep cats forever that they can’t find homes for. But that’s exactly why LYFF does what we do—we try to fill in the gaps between what hardworking shelter staff can do and what cats need.
And Branch tugged at our hearts. He was a slim, seven year-old boy with a toothy, vampire smile, a little mouthy with his affection—rubbing on us with his teeth and giving soft nibbles for attention—and he was clearly, obviously, eager for love. We needed to give him a second chance at life.
Lucky for us and for Branch, treating his diabetes turned out to be simple, low-cost, and not at all scary. Since he’d never been given insulin, he qualified for a new, inexpensive, oral medication that he takes once a day with food. Of course, he’s on a strict diet of only low-carb, non-prescription wet food, which took some focused work to tune to perfection. And he needs his glucose level checked once or twice a month to make sure he’s staying on track. It will be important throughout his life that his family work closely with a veterinarian to monitor his blood sugar.
After working with him for months, we’re proud to say that today Branch is healthy, happy, and available for adoption. He’s obviously going to require a special family. You’ll need to be willing to take on a senior and committed to his diet and his medication—but mostly you’ll need to give him the love he’s missed out on for most of his life. We think he’ll be fine with other cats, but could also see him preferring to be the king of his own castle where he soaks up all the available adoration. In return, he’ll be the best work-from-home buddy you could ask for, sitting on your desk and encouraging you to alternately work and wave a feather wand toy for him. You’ll never be in doubt about what Branch wants and when it wants it, because he’ll let you know. He’ll entertain himself by running around in circles, and then he’ll curl up nearby (often between you and your computer monitors) to purr and snooze the day away.
If you’re interested in a cat with some special needs and a lot of personality, talk to us about our sweet Branch today!
