A lady heard weeping coming from her garden on Valentine’s Day. She discovered an orange tabby standing in the snow and seemed little battered there.
The cat meowed and pawed at the door, appearing to seek for assistance.
The lady, a foster volunteer with the Quebec kitten rescue Un Chat à la Fois, sent a message to Marie Simard with a picture of the cat. Simard, the creator of Un Chat à la Fois, stated in an interview that the woman “indicated she understood we weren’t taking adult cats and was hoping to help him.” I instructed her to take him to our partner clinic so he could be assessed as soon as I saw the image because it broke my heart.
She said, “His look stated everything that needed to be said.” When I instructed her to go collect him, he didn’t try to flee after spending some time in front of her door.
The vet found out at the clinic that the cat did, in fact, require assistance. He had frostbite, rotting teeth, diabetes, fleas, parasites, and was covered in bite marks. Simard was aware that the stray would not have survived another bitter winter if he hadn’t demanded the care he so sorely needed.
The cat was weaker, but he was just happy to be back among humans. Simard continued, saying: “He was very nice to the employees at the clinic. He would take his paw out of the cage at the vet so the people would pet him.”
Simard gave the cat the name Aslan in honour of the lion from the “Chronicles of Narnia” books. Aslan’s health recovered after a few days of therapy at the clinic, and he was sent to live in a foster home where he became fast friends with his new mom’s cats.
Aslan made sure his foster mother was aware of how grateful he was to be secure and warm every day.
He’s a really loving cat, said Simard. He enjoys sleeping close to his foster mother.
Aslan’s foster mom struggled to part him from Cleo, his new sister and another rescue cat, when it came time to find Aslan a permanent home. Simard also adds: “He would just sleep next to her, groom her and she would groom him. It made sense to have them stay together — two rescue cats who had a tough life.”
One year later, Aslan has proven to be the ideal Valentine for his family.
