Featured Pet: Oliver
Prior to his life at our Sanctuary, Oliver lived in a home with his previous owner for four years, until she was sadly hospitalized and had to move to an assisted living facility. This left Oliver alone in the home while a friend was stopping by during the day to feed and care for him. A family member reached out to Our Companions for assistance and we invited Oliver to come live at our Sanctuary. It was quite the endeavor to get Oliver in a carrier since the home was quite cluttered and it was hard to figure out where he was hiding. Ultimately the family member and help from a local animal control officer had to trap Oliver, but he arrived safe and sound to our Sanctuary in 2023 at seven years old.
There wasn’t much information provided about Oliver’s history and personality since the family didn’t spend much time with him. We were aware that Oliver was previously a stray and moved into a home where he lived with two other cats. Unfortunately, the cats did not get along, which eventually led to him moving to another home where he was the only pet. Coming to our Sanctuary, Oliver had his own room and even his own access to a private catio, like all of our feline guests at the Sanctuary. He was understandably nervous at first, but was social and sweet to people that would come visit. We learned that he loved to be brushed and enjoyed all the fun, exciting toys we had to offer! Oliver’s favorite toy was a mouse on a wire attached to a wand. He would stalk his “prey” and then pounce on it like a true, agile feline!
Given how sweet, social, and playful he was, we decided to promote Oliver up for adoption and help him find a wonderful home to call his own! Knowing that he didn’t get along with other cats, we were hoping for a single pet household where he can soak up all the love and attention! Time went on searching for someone that wanted to welcome this big lovable floof, but he was often overlooked. Still, our team made sure Oliver was given lots of play time, pets, and brushing!
He was doing very well with us, until we noticed some labored breathing and a fainting episode which led us to get an ECHO on his heart. It was discovered he had a heart murmur and was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy and a congenital disorder called mitral valve dysplasia. He has some thickening to the septum, but there is no noted left atrial enlargement, which is good, and they feel that there is no medical intervention that is needed at this time.
This doesn’t stop Oliver from living life to the fullest! He still loves to spend time with people, playing or being pet, and does appreciate his alone time where he can hang out in his cat tree looking outside. He loves learning and being engaged with people, especially when learning how to give high-fives! If that wasn’t cute enough, he’s one of the best biscuit makers in town- which is definitely saying something!
Though we know Oliver’s heart condition might make people a bit hesitant to adopt him, we’re thankful to have discovered the heart condition during his time with us, we’re happy there’s no medical care that is needed, and hope people understand that Oliver is stable, happy, and ready to enjoy the next chapter of his life in a home with a family! If you’d like to learn more about this seven year old gentle giant, please contact our Helpline at 860-242-9999 or email [email protected].