Although it’s extremely difficult to decipher what cats feel at any given moment, the second a collar was put on Elka by her rescuer for the first time, no translation was needed to see what this sick, senior kitty felt. It was pure elation, Elka was overjoyed.
The 18-year-old cat had a very difficult life before she was rescued, as her former owner had declawed Elka, and abandoned her, when they didn’t want her anymore, to fend for her own, with a group of savage cats. Elka’s life turned better on the night of her rescue by the founder of Hands of Mercy Cat Sanctuary, Brenda Wilkinson. Local residents initially spotted Elka, and they took the scared cat into their home, and after giving her food and water, they called Wilkinson at the Sanctuary for further help.
At the time when Wilkinson met the elderly cat, she instantly knew that Elka was struggling so much, that the woman figured out that the cat wouldn’t live much longer, and after some tests, it came to light that Elka’s organs were failing. In an interview, Wilkinson had this to say: “I really felt like it was going to be a short time together. So I [did] everything I could to make her feel loved.”
The woman let Elka lead her on how she wanted to be loved, saying “She [wanted] to be petted. She [would] sit on the stand beside my chair and paw at my arm until I [paid] attention to her.” One love language of the cat that Wilkinson didn’t expect is being fitted with her very own collar. Wilkinson goes on to say: “I was putting [collars] on some of the other cats. She was watching me put them on the others, so I went ahead and put one on her, not really thinking anything of it.”
When the woman put the collar around the elderly cat’s neck, something changed in Elka, and Wilkinson says: “I could feel everything inside of her leap with joy. Like, ‘Oh my God, someone loves me. I have a home again.’” Although it’s been only 6 months since Elka was taken into the loving home of the sanctuary, her new mom does everything in her power to slow her organ failure, and ease some of her symptoms, and the woman says: “She’s doing amazing. She’s persistent — she will not take no for an answer.”
While getting lifelong medical treatments, wearing her bright orange collar, and getting all the love, hugs and kisses from her new mom and the rest of the family at Hands of Mercy Sanctuary, Elka will stay by Wilkinson’s side for the rest of her days. Elka would never again know what it feels like to not wear a collar again, because, according to Wilkinson, “she’s home.”
