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The Story Of Elvis
One very cold winter day last February 2003, a very sickly cat was eating grass in our yard. When I got within ten feet of him he ran off, but not before I got a glimpse of the awful shape he was in. He was missing a substantial amount of fur, was severely beaten up, limping, and incredibly malnourished.
I immediately ran in to the house for a bowl of food. Since he was so skittish and unapproachable I left it under some bushes for him. I waited and waited by the window and he eventually came over, devoured it and ran off.
I started to leave food out in hopes that he would return so that I could help him. He would come back once every three weeks, then every ten days or so and eventually moved into the bushes in the front of our house.
He started to respond to my voice and would come when I called for him. As I was able to get a bit closer to him, I got a better look at the little guy. His four fang teeth were completely broken off and severely infected, he was missing almost all of his claws, not from being declawed, but from God only knows what.
He was covered in scabs, some still freshly bleeding, his entire head was missing fur due to many fights and constant scratching, and he was an un-neutered male which we knew was not good.
Fast forward to the summer time, I gave him a name, Elvis.
I started to develop a relationship with Elvis although it was completely on his terms. He would let me know when I was too close and there would be no touching or quick movements at all what so ever.
Every morning at seven AM and evening at six PM I would bring him food. My husband Tom would try to feed him through out the day but Elvis does not like men at all. He would hiss and growl at the mere sight or sound of Tom.
I would spend hours out in the yard just cat clubbing with him to let him know he was wanted and loved. I wanted to earn his trust and let him know everything would be fine. Tom and I even cancelled our summer vacation, we did not want Elvis to go without food ever again, and with us gone there would be no one to feed him.
Tom and I made a decision that we would need to catch Elvis and get him to a vet, not only for medical attention and neutering, but the cold New England weather was rolling in and we knew he would not make it through another winter.
We knew we had an extremely tough task ahead of us capturing him. I made an appointment with a clinic that specializes in cats and knew this was it. He had to be caught and there was little to no room for error.
We baited the huge carrier with salmon. After just a short time Elvis trusted me enough and walked right in. When I closed the door he immediately got aggressive and tried to get out. I burst into tears; it just broke my heart, even though I knew it was what needed to be done.
Bright and early the next morning we were all off to the vet. Standard procedure was to run blood work prior to neutering. They warned us of FIV and leukemia and we prayed for the best and did our very best to prepare for the worst.
We waited by the phone for what seemed like days and then it rang - Elvis did not have leukemia, but did test positive for FIV, the surgeries were complete and he was in recovery doing well. They not only neutered him, but gave him oral surgery to remove the tooth sockets to cure the infection.
The next day we were homeward bound, with Elvis and a slew of antibiotics to help him heal, cure his mouth infection, urinary tract infection, ring worm, tape worm and so on.
We set up an area in our basement for him so that he could recover peacefully, not to mention we were unsure how he would react being in a house, living outdoors for so long.
One day later we felt bad knowing he was in the basement all alone so we brought him upstairs into the house and gave him his own room. We had to keep him somewhat confined because of Amelia, our little princess kitty - she, in the past did not do well with other cats at all.
Now, in November, two months after bringing him home from the vet, Elvis looks and feels wonderful. He loves being an indoor cat, and has turned out to be a total lap cat. He loves to nuzzle and be petted pretty much non-stop.
He's starting to learn how to play a little bit. He is so warm and affectionate and gracious that it brings tears to my eyes. He has even started to warm up to Tom and occasionally will hop on his lap for a quick nap or pat. Ameila is coming around too, and starting to dig her big brother more and more each day.
He is such a wonderful addition to our family I can't tell you enough. We just love him to pieces.
Alaina and Tom Tyre, Watertown, Mass.
