Peter John -- He's now adopted!

Meet Peter John!

Peter John is no longer available for adoption, but as with Papa, I wanted to share his story.  

According to my vet, he is about 7 years old, and he has tested positive for Feline Aids. When he came to my yard in 2020, he had a badly damaged eye, and he was a fighter.  It was obvious that he had not had an easy life, and he had many old wounds to prove it.  

His bad eye had healed on its own, but the amount and quality of sight he had was very questionable, and the eye often became infected. Still, that didn't stop him from becoming a very intimidating force with the other cats, as he knew how to throw them a stare that would stop them in their tracks. As I once told a friend, "He has one eye and he knows how to use it!"  

Peter John was a terror, he was tough -- and he was starving, so it wasn't difficult to get him into a Have-a-Heart trap him with the promise of food.  Once he was neutered, I released him to my yard, and over the next 9 months he slowly came to trust me. 

Like Papa, Peter John always kept his distance.  One morning, I bent down to feed everyone and he came right along side me.  Much to my surprise, he tucked himself right under my arm and stayed there. I slowly started to pet his head and he began to purr.  That was the beginning.

One of the most gratifying things about rescue work is watching a feral animal learn to trust and accept a loving touch. Once that heart is opened -- it doesn't close. It just gets bigger and bigger. 

Today, Peter John is the biggest mush in the whole wide world. He will lie on your lap for hours -- he adores affection, and he has a loving, gentle, beautiful disposition. He is a vastly different animal than he was a few years ago. 

During his first year and a half with me, he had three bouts of bronchitis, which led to blood work and his Feline Aids diagnosis. This past summer, he started developing a quickly spreading cataract in his good eye, thus losing his sight.  He is now an indoor cat for most of the day, but the outdoors is still his "familiar." My yard is enclosed, so he will sometimes go out on the porch or sit on the grass near the house, but he is never alone.  His friend, Papa, has taken to watch over him as his "Seeing-Eye Cat."  They are side-by-side when Peter John is outside, and side-by-side when they are both in the house.  For two guys that started out beating each other up on a daily basis, they have become a closely-bonded pair, and it is remarkable and beautiful to see.  

They are my boys, and they will be with me always.