Do cats really have nine lives?
Well, this beautiful little kitten sure does, although she’s already used one of them up. Her name is Charley, and this is her story.

On July 21, 2006 Animal Center rescuers responded to a call from Sandy Hook, CT resident Dorothy Tani about a kitten she had seen wandering the neighborhood alone who she suspected was sick. When we arrived, we spotted the kitten in a neighbor’s yard—and the kitten had spotted us and wasn’t coming any closer.
In our rescue work, we are used to dealing mostly with timid feral cats and kittens who run away when approached by people, and therefore need to be humanely trapped in order to receive care. So we set up our kitten trapping equipment, baited with tuna—a sure favorite with cats—and waited. The kitten, who we named Charley, sized us up for about twenty minutes before starting to head toward us. We could see that Charley was having difficulty walking, taking a few steps then lying down to rest. But she was determined, walking right past the kitten trap and heading straight for us.

Our satisfaction at witnessing this kitten freely approach us quickly turned to horror when we started to realize why Charley was moving so slowly. She had scrapes and wounds across her buttocks. Flies swarmed around her. Mucus oozed from her eyes. The closer Charley came, the more apparent it became: this little kitten was in big trouble.

Charley was hospitalized at The Cat Clinic in Danbury for the next week. She had gashes in her back paw and her front pads were scraped and bloody, which would explain her difficulty walking. An untreated upper respiratory infection had produced so much mucus that it glued her right eye shut. She was riddled with fleas and ticks. Most seriously, Charley had wounds and maggot infestations in her neck, tail and genital areas. Charley, they explained, was lucky to be alive.

We couldn’t help but wonder what happened to this poor little kitten in the first seven short weeks of her life. Charley was very friendly and loving from the first day we met her, which strongly suggests that she had been with people before, as opposed to being born “in the wild,” unsocialized and frightened of humans. But we could not imagine who could have ever abandoned this innocent creature, and how she came to be alone in the world.
Like so many animals who are abandoned and rescued, Charley demonstrated a fierce will to live and trusting, positive spirit from the first day we met her.

We may never know what happened to Charley before she came to The Animal Center, but we do know that her story is on track for a happy ending. It took nearly two months for Charley to recover. When she was well enough for adoption, we received a call from the Funnell family in Redding, CT. They had read about Charley on our website and wanted to give this kitty a loving family who would keep her healthy and safe. Said Sally Funnell in our adoption follow-up conversation, “You can’t imagine the joy Charley has brought to us. “She is happy and full of life. We absolutely love her.”

Like so many animals who are abandoned and rescued, Charley never once gave up hope, demonstrating a fierce will to live and trusting positive spirit from the day we met her. The kitten rescue that started by breaking our hearts has ended by raising our spirits.

Your donations not only help the many healthy cats and kittens helped through The Animal Center’s programs, but also support the extra expenses we incur to treat special needs animals like Charley. Many thanks from Charley and The Animal Center for helping to make our lifesaving work possible!