After More Than Nine months in a Cage at a Shelter, Ex-Street Cat Bodhi Finally Has a Home and, Hopefully, That Change in Fortune Signals the End of His Bitter Travails

Long Suffering Bodhi Has Been Sprung from Jail

"Adopters will need lots of time and patience with Bodhi and understand the traumas he suffered when he was living on the street."

-- the RSPCA's York Animal Home

It sure was a long time in coming but Bodhi's ship has finally docked. The long-suffering, six-year-old, white-colored tom with a black and white face and a black tail was adopted sometime last month after having been forced to languish in a cage for at least nine months at the RSPCA's York Animal Home (YAH) in the city of the same name, thirty-five kilometers northeast of Leeds in North Yorkshire.

He arrived at YAH last June, if not indeed earlier, after he had been found on the street in "terrible condition." In particular, he was not only homeless but also covered in various wounds. (See Cat Defender post of August 29, 2022 entitled "Bodhi Desperately Needs to Move on to the Next Chapter in His Life but, Like a Millstone Around His Neck, the Abuse That He Suffered while Homeless on the Street Is Holding Him Back.")

Since the nature of his injuries never has been disclosed, it is impossible to know the culprit. For its part, YAH believes that he had been attacked by other cats.

Whereas that is entirely possible, it is nevertheless a dubious assumption. Alpha toms most certainly do bully other males but usually their victims are able to flee to other locations before their assailants are able to inflict any visible injuries upon them.

On the other hand, Bodhi's ingrained fear and distrust of humans strongly suggests that he was abused by a far more common two-legged monster. The extent of his injuries also would be consistent with those suffered by a cat who was trapped indoors and thus unable to flee.

Even YAH has hinted that possibly could have been what happened to him. "Bodhi is a special little cat," the shelter told The Press of York on July 3, 2022. (See "Could You Give a Home to Ex-Street Cat Bodhi?")  "He is looking for a home with extra special adopters who will take a chance on an ex-street cat who has been left with anxiety around humans due to the abuse he suffered while living on the streets."

As far as it is known, the shelter was able to have rectified Bodhi's physical injuries fairly easily and quickly but the psychological damage that was inflicted upon him has proven to be an entirely different affair. Although staffers immediately went to work attempting to instill in him some measure of trust in humans, that process has proven to be slow and painstaking.

"He has come on so much since he first arrived at the RSPCA rescue centre, but sadly he still has a long way to go," the shelter told The Press. "We feel he will improve so much quicker in a home environment."

Even so it is doubtful that anyone at YAH expected that process to have taken nine months. One possible explanation could be that socializing Bodhi for adoption took much longer than originally expected; a far more plausible reason, however, could be that it took far longer for the shelter to have located an individual who was willing to have given him a second chance at life.

Slandered as Being Feral Cost CeCe Four Years of Her Life...

It is truly deplorable but the vast majority of individuals who adopt cats think only of what they are going to add to their lives instead of saving feline lives. Equally importantly, they fail to realize that cats which have been abused and abandoned and subsequently find themselves incarcerated in tiny cages on death row at shelters are, quite justifiably, confused and frightened to death. Under such life and death circumstances, few of them are able to muster the confidence and friendliness that most would-be adopters are seeking in a feline companion.

That is very similar to what happened to a beautiful fourteen-year-old gray and white female named CeCe who was forced to spend four years all alone in a cage at a shelter after she was erroneously labeled as being feral. Actually, she was anything but unsocialized; au contraire, she only wound up on death row after the death of her longtime owner.

Such a colossal miscarriage of justice is totally inexcusable given that very few unsocialized cats are able to live anywhere nearly that long. That in turn calls into question the insanity of allowing such idiots to come anywhere near any cat, let alone to make life and death decisions at shelters and veterinary offices.

Far from being unsocialized, CeCe was merely scared and confused. Mercifully, she was granted a new lease on life in October of last year when Better Days Rescue Fund in Roxbury, Connecticut, gave her a permanent home at its sanctuary. Although that is a poor substitute for having her own home and an owner who dotes on her, hopefully things will work out for her. (See Better Days' press release of October 28, 2022, "CeCe Is Loving Her New Life.")

In that light, there certainly is not any shortage of blame to go around for the desperate plight of cats such as Bodhi and CeCe who wind up homeless. First of all, owners do not have any business of either abandoning cats and kittens to the street or of surrendering them to murderous shelters and veterinarians.

Secondly, all societies are blameworthy for granting shelters, veterinarians, Animal Control officers, and cops an unfettered right to kill cats and kittens with impunity. Thirdly, would-be adopters are guilty of not only failing to consider the circumstances under which all shelter cats are forced to live but also of not recognizing the tremendous potential that all homeless cats inherently have within themselves.

They are sans doute far more tractable than humans. The rub lies in which species is doing the judging.

"These human beings are terribly independent and self-involved and not trainable, and they will not listen to reason," Midnight Louie astutely observed in Carole Nelson Douglas's 2008 novel, Cat in a Sapphire Slipper. "It's like herding lemmings."

CeCe was one of the lucky ones in that most cats that even appear homeless are either killed in the field by Animal Control officers and cops or immediately upon arrival by the operators of shelters. Many, if not indeed most, shelters do not even bother to scan them for implanted microchips.

It is only the laws against homicide that curb, but do not entirely eliminate, man's tendency to treat even his fellow citizens in a like manner. "It is fatal to look hungry," George Orwell observed in his 1933 novel, Down and Out in Paris and London. "It makes people want to kick you."

...but She Now Has a Home at a Sanctuary

Even those cats that are officially impounded are usually only allowed to live for between three and seven days before they, too, are killed. Mercifully, YAH not only had the compassion in order to have spared Bodhi's life but the wisdom to have recognized his potential. It additionally was willing to have socialized him and to have placed him in a home no matter how much time, effort, and cost that required.

Moreover, to have done so was neither an easy nor an inexpensive decision for it to have taken. As a small operation, it has space for only fifty-four cats, an equal number of canines, nineteen rabbits, and an undisclosed number of "small furries."

How many other cats that it killed during the time that it took for it to have saved Bodhi has not been divulged but it is long overdue that all shelters, Animal Control officers, and veterinarian were mandated by law to get out of the business of slaughtering cats and kittens en masse. There are far better means of humanely addressing the dilemma of homeless cats.

Very few individuals seem to be the least bit troubled by it, but abusing and killing animals for any reason has forever stained the human race. "As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower beings he never will know health or peace," Pythagoras, a vegetarian, correctly predicted some twenty-six-hundred years ago. "For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seeds of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love."

YAH has not disclosed anything concerning either Bodhi's new owner or where that he is now residing. Earlier it had stipulated, however, that it was looking to place him in a home that was sans both children and other cats and that he was to be kept indoors.

It additionally wanted to place him with someone who was knowledgeable about homeless cats as well as willing to continue the socialization process with him. It also wanted him initially to be given a spare room in which to live by himself until he became more comfortable around his new guardian.

"This may take up to six months to happen so they (sic) will need to be in it for the long haul," the shelter told The Press. "Adopters will need lots of time and patience with Bodhi and understand the traumas he has suffered when he was living on the street."

A quiet home also would appear to be essential and that means no nonstop gassing on the telephone or loud radios, televisions, and stereos. All visitors likewise should be instructed to not only conduct themselves accordingly but to stay out of his room.

His new owner should only address him in a quiet voice and in a respectable manner. That individual likewise should neither scold nor correct him no matter what he does. It also might be a good idea to deal with him on hands and knees given that cats find that position considerably less threatening than having to deal with individuals who tower six feet over them.

Initially, his new owner may need to be content with feeding, watering, and emptying his litter boxes. Above all, he needs to be constantly reassured that he now has a safe and permanent home with plenty of food and water and the freedom to move around the house as he sees fit.

Wishing Bodhi Nothing but the Absolute Best

Sooner or later, he eventually will begin to feel more secure and comfortable in his new home but it still could take quite a while before he becomes a lap cat. "Staff at the centre believe he will make a great pet if someone will take a chance on him," YAH predicted to The Press.

Even though staffers at the shelter worked with him for more than nine months, it is not known how far that the socialization process with him had advanced. Hopefully, he is now at a stage where that his owner will be able to get him into a cage should he need to make an emergency trip to a veterinarian. That person also would need to eventually be able to brush his fur and, possibly, his teeth as well as to attend to any minor injuries and ailments that might develop.

Although the socialization process with cats such as Bodhi cannot be pushed too rapidly, some measure of sustained improvement needs to be made so as to enable their caretakers to be able to properly monitor their health and well-being. Staffers at the shelter should be able to instruct his new owner how to go about that but if additional assistance is needed cat behaviorists are available for a fee. The greatest reservoir of knowledge concerning cats is to be found, however, by consulting old dowagers who have forgotten more about the species than the so-called experts ever learned.

In addition to commending YAH for sparing Bodhi's life, The Press is to be thanked for its willingness to have championed his cause as well as that of the countless other cats and dogs that it has helped to find new homes and lives over the many years. Both the print as well as the electronic media throughout both England and Deutschland seldom hesitate to help out in this regard but the capitalistic media in the United States is far too stingy and uncaring to ever do anything positive for cats, dogs, and other animals.

It is impossible to predict how that things will turn out for Bodhi in his new adventure. If for any reason things should go awry, the fault most assuredly will lie with his new guardian given that YAH not only has invested so much time and effort in him but, more importantly, it would not have adopted him out if it did not believe in him.

Suffice it to say that he is still a young and handsome tom who richly deserves both a home and a second chance at life. Hopefully his new owner therefore will be willing to love and care for him on his own terms. That is by no means too much to ask of any guardian.

After all, many kindhearted individuals have compassionately cared for cats for years who would not even allow them to come near them. Then one day out of the blue their cats unexpectedly allowed them to touch their fur for the first time and right then and there their hearts broke into a thousand pieces.

All their time, effort, and concern had been worth it a thousand times. Time spent loving and caring for another individual may very well be a total waste of time and effort but that is never the case with any cat. In fact, doing so may be one of a handful of undertakings in life that are genuinely worthwhile.

In all likelihood, the outside world has seen and heard the last of Bodhi and that, in a way, is a positive development. If the situation should turn out otherwise, it likely would be only because the adoption had failed and he had been returned to a cage at YAH.

As it is the case with countless other cats around the world, memories of Bodhi are ultimately destined to fade into the deep recesses of the mind. The ravages of time will not be able, however, to completely obliterate the memory of him and his sad face trapped in a desolate cage four-thousand miles and half a world away. His face thus has become that of all the unjustly incarcerated and soon to be killed cats that are on death row.

Photos: York Animal Home (Bodhi) and Better Days Rescue Fund (CeCe).

Mauled to Within an Inch of His Life by Either a Dog or a Coyote and Afterwards Cruelly Left to Suffer in the Bitter Cold and Deep Snow for More than a Month by the Lewis County Humane Society, Warden Not Only Perseveres but Now Has Hope for a Better Life

Warden Still Looks Haggard but, Mercifully, He Is Alive

 "He was running around a trailer park and one of the gentlemen there said he has these cats running around and this one was all tore up."

-- Nanci Cutler-Feist

Once The Fates have decided to deal a cat a losing hand in the great game of life, things usually do not improve for him. On the contrary, they normally only deteriorate. 

In that respect it is just too bad that a longhaired yellow and white tom named Warden was unable to have deciphered the handwriting on the wall. As a consequence, that inability, coupled with the undeniable reality that this world is an exceedingly dangerous place for members of his species, nearly ended up costing him his young life.

For all intents and purposes, his tragic story began in a wretched trailer park in Lowville, a town of fewer than five-thousand residents located forty-three kilometers southeast of Watertown in Lewis County in upstate New York. The nondescript town's one claim to fame is its manufacture of Kraft's cream cheese and cheese sticks.

The trailer park has not been publicly identified but it possibly could have been the Turks Mobile Home Park at 5900 River Road. That deduction is predicated on its being the only one to be found on the web that fits the description of such a facility in Lowville; the remainder of the listings are all campgrounds. Of course, it is entirely possible that the facility at which Warden was living does not have an online presence.

That which is not in doubt is that he was homeless and that in itself is a huge problem with the hundreds, if not indeed thousands, of cats that are abandoned each year at such facilities. Therefore, those individuals who perpetrate such horrific acts are richly deserving of their reputation as being "trailer park trash."

Press reports maintain that he was part of a "feral colony" but that seems unlikely. Rather, he probably was part of a clowder of homeless cats as opposed to being a bona fide member of a TNR colony with regular caretakers. It is difficult to tell from the slew of photographs and videos of him that have been subsequently posted online, but his right ear does not appear to have been tipped, which would be one indication that he had been sterilized and belonged to such a colony.

He most assuredly had been cruelly abandoned by either a past or present inhabitant of the park. Otherwise, he is the offspring of a cat who earlier had been forsaken by her owners.

It therefore seems logical to conclude that he had been pretty much on his own ever since birth. For food, he had been forced to rely upon mice, handouts from sympathetic residents, and whatever else that he was lucky enough to have found, including potable drinking water. Veterinary care was nonexistent and for shelter the best that he was able to have done for himself was to have crawled up underneath one of the units and that certainly was nothing to have written home about.

His total lack of shelter cannot in any way be underemphasized considering that Lowville is situated not all that far from Lake Ontario and therefore is a simply hellish place for a homeless cat to reside during the wintertime. Why, such a frigid environment would give even an Eskimo the shivers!

For instance, the average overnight temperature falls well below zero degrees Fahrenheit from early December until March. On top of all that grief, the area additionally receives around thirty inches of snow and ice each month during that period.

Warden's Injured Right Eye Appears to be Functioning

His age has not been divulged but based upon his size and lack of socialization it would seem likely that he had been on his own for at least a year or two if not indeed longer. His life was no doubt harsh but he was persevering as best he could until disaster struck.

In addition to the wholesale neglect, abuse, and abandonment that trailer park cats are routinely subjected to, attacks by dogs and, sometimes, coyotes are common and that is precisely what happened to Warden sometime last autumn when he was mauled to within an inch of his life. Most egregiously, his right eye was severely damaged and the left side of his throat was slashed.

His left front paw was mauled, he suffered numerous abrasions to both sides of his nose, and he may have sustained unspecified injuries to his mouth and teeth. He also appears to have received a nasty abrasion to the top of his head but that possibly could have resulted from him scratching at a minor injury.

There apparently were not any witnesses to the attack but Nanci Cutler-Feist of Theresa, fifty-three kilometers north of Lowville in Jefferson County and who later adopted him on February 6th, has a theory as to what happened. "The other cats, they're not hurt at all, so what I'm thinking he saved those cats and he protected those cats," she told WWNY-TV of Watertown on February 20th. (See "A Cat's Tale: Wounded Feral Feline Finds New Home.")

Whereas it is anyone's guess as to what transpired, her account of events seems unlikely. A considerably more plausible scenario is that Warden was ambushed in the open by a faster, larger, and stronger predator. Otherwise, he surely would have fled underneath either one of the trailers or up a tree, if one had been readily available. That theory is buttressed by the Turks Mobile Home Park being located on open ground and on an elevated plateau.

The extent of his injuries coupled with the fact that he survived would tend to implicate a medium-sized dog in the attack although a fisher, a raccoon, and possibly even a skunk cannot be entirely ruled out. On the other hand, if he had been caught on open ground by either a large dog or a coyote he surely would be long dead.

What transpired next is equally baffling. "He was running around a trailer park and one of the gentlemen there said he has these cats running around and this one was all tore up," Cutler-Feist elaborated to WWNY-TV.

Supposedly either that man or another resident of the trailer park eventually got around to telephoning the Lewis County Humane Society (LCHS) in Glenfield, a hamlet in Martinsburg County eleven kilometers southeast of Lowville. A representative of that rescue group did show up at the park but even then it took that individual an astounding month or longer in order to have successfully trapped Warden.

It is almost superfluous to point out but any rescue group that is so incompetent as to be unable to trap a half-dead and starving cat in the cold and snow does not have any business of even hanging out its shingle. Consequently, the LCHS's president, Cheryl Steiner, and everyone else involved in this totally inexcusable debacle should not only be fired but prosecuted for animal neglect and cruelty.

Warden in His New Home with Nanci Cutler-Feist

It is not known how that Warden was able to have gotten away from such a vicious and determined predator but suffice it to say that it is a miracle that he was able to have done so and that in turn makes the LCHS's total incompetence all the more disgraceful and intolerable. In particular, while its members were lounging by their blazing fires on their fat, worthless asses, cradling their snifters of brandy, and gorging themselves on their Christmas turkeys and puddings, Warden easily could have bled to death from the wound to his throat.

The punctures and other wounds that he received could have become infected and he easily could have lost the vision in his right eye. Furthermore, the damage that was done to his mouth sans doute made it difficult for him to even masticate whatever food that was available to him and therefore dramatically increased the odds that he would perish from starvation.

Left all alone and untreated to lick his numerous life-threatening wounds, he faced the dire prospects of either freezing to death or succumbing to another predator. He could not conceivably have been in anything other than excruciating pain and all hope of being rescued surely must have soon evaporated.

After the LCHS had belatedly gotten around to successfully trapping him it delivered him to the Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Lowville which is one of a handful of surgeries in the United States that still cater to both small and large animals. What exactly that the practitioners did for him has not detailed but at the very least they cleansed, sutured, and dressed his wounds and administered antibiotics and painkillers.

No mention has been made of any internal injuries that he may have suffered in the attack but that possibility remains a top concern. Coming as it did on the heels of his years of neglect and abuse, the attack has further scarred him psychologically.

Although not any timeline of events has been advanced, it would appear that the assault occurred in early December, if not indeed even earlier. An undetermined number of days then rolled off the calendar before anyone at the trailer park was able to have mustered the compassion in order to have telephoned the LCHS.

The trapping took a month or longer and Warden likely spent at least a week at Countryside. After that, he likely was incarcerated in a cage at the LCHS until Cutler-Feist ransomed his life off of death row on February 6th. That is all supposition, however. The time that Warden was forced to go without treatment while he was agonizing in pain could have been much lengthier.

It has not been divulged who footed Warden's initial veterinary bill and arranged for his adoption. If per chance it was the LCHS, it should not expect any thanks. After all, that was the absolute least that it owed him after so outrageously turning a deaf ear to his life and death struggle with the Grim Reaper for more than a month.

Although his right eye still has a considerable amount of healing to do, it appears that his vision in it has been saved. The tissue surrounding it may, however, require restorative surgery.

Warden Is Learning to Make Himself at Home...

The cut to his throat and the abrasions to his face and, possibly, elsewhere should all heal in due time. In recent videos posted of him online, the bandage has been removed from his left front paw and he appears to be walking pretty much normally.

Described by Cutler-Feist as a messy eater, he may have sustained unspecified damage to both his mouth and teeth that may need to be rectified by oral surgery. His long fur also appears to be somewhat unkempt and that is an indication that he needs to be brushed more frequently. (See Wardens Watch, not Warden's Watch, on Facebook for a ton of photographs and videos as well as to follow his recovery.)

"He looked really rough," she told WWNY-TV of her experience in meeting him for the first time. "He smelled a little bad and his injuries were much worse. He was very shy."

He is all cleaned up now and his sutures were removed on February 11th. Later on March 1st, he returned to Countryside in order to receive his inoculations.

Provided that Cutler-Feist is able to keep him away from dogs, coyotes, motorists, and all other feline predators, Warden's prognosis appears to be excellent. She may elect to confine him either indoors or to a fenced-in garden but after living outdoors for so many years in the cold and snow all the while being targeted by violent predators he may very well come to welcome such a change.

For her part, Cutler-Feist is nothing but optimistic. "It inspires me seeing how beat up he is and yet he still had the will to live," she told WWNY-TV.  "(It) inspires me because things can get pretty bad sometimes, but scars heal."

Although the process of socializing Warden has gotten off to a good start, it is nonetheless going to take a while and considerable patience. For instance, she is still experiencing difficulties getting him into a cage for follow-up trips to the vet and he still has a quite understandable tendency to occasionally take a swat at her.

"Warden is doing wonderful. He still scarfs down his food but (he) has slowed down on the amount," she recently disclosed on Facebook. "He seems to be getting over his swatting...He is super-lovable," she added February 10th on Facebook.

Cutler-Feist additionally is the proud owner of a beautiful large gray and white female named Chichi who arrived at her house as a rescue cat with anger issues. She is now, however, described as a snuggler. (See a February 9th video of her on Facebook.)

As soon as the socialization process with Warden has progressed a little bit more, her next job is going to be introducing him to Chichi. Since he is already accustomed to residing in a clowder, that should not be a problem.

...but He Is Still Experiencing Nightmares

In fact, he in all likelihood will welcome her companionship. The only real concern is who is going to be looking after him while Cutler-Feist is away at work during the day.

From the moment that he arrived in this violent and ailurophobic world up until the attack Warden's life amounted to little more than a living Hell on earth. All of that changed on February 6th, however, when he was adopted by Cutler-Feist. She certainly would appear to possess all the compassion, knowledgeability of cats, time, patience, and financial resources that have been previously so lacking in his young and troubled life. Under her care, he should be able to pick up the pieces of his shattered life and to make a go of things.

Her success in domesticating him is also one more example that all homeless cats can be socialized to one degree or the other. The operators of shelters, veterinarians, and Animal Control officers who persist in exterminating them en masse simply either hate cats or are too cheap and lazy in order to invest the time and resources that are required in order to get them ready for adoption.

"It was just meant to be from the moment I saw his picture. I'm just a sucker for a handsome guy," she summed up to WWNY-TV. "I love that I'm able to do this for him and we're in this together."

As it is the case with all true aficionados of the species, it is all about the welfare and happiness of her cats as far as Cutler-Feist is concerned. Regrettably, most individuals, professionals and amateurs alike, never will be able to get that straight.

Even though Warden's miraculous turnaround is indeed something to celebrate, this story neither began nor ends with him. There is still the unfinished business of the undisclosed number of cats that have been left behind at the trailer park.

Above all, they are still subject to the same deprivations and threats to their existence that nearly robbed Warden of his precious life. They therefore must not be forgotten and it is imperative that veterinary care and homes be secured for them before they succumb to either the bitter cold, starve to death, or are eaten by a dog or another predator.

The LCHS is, quite obviously, not about to do anything for them other than to trap and kill them. Consequently, asking that derelict organization for any assistance is totally out of the question.

By default, that leaves their fate solely in the hands of those cat-lovers who reside in and around Lowville. The best that therefore can be hoped for is that a handful of them will come forward and give the cats loving homes.

Doing so is going to entail a considerable amount of effort and a substantial expenditure of coin on their part but it is the only compassionate and morally acceptable remedy for their heartbreaking and desperate plight. It additionally would be one way for them to atone for their long-term neglect of them which ultimately led to Warden's interminable suffering.

Photos: Facebook (Warden in a cage, his injured eye, making himself at home, and sleeping) and WWNY-TV (Warden with Nanci Cutler-Feist).