There’s always a grain of truth in a cliché. And as you’ll read about here, these three cats are putting the “cats have nine lives” cliché to the test!
An 1,800 Mile U-Turn from Texas
Kirk Lee had just retired from the Navy in Charleston and had just started his 1,200 mile drive to his retirement home in Texas with his wife Jenny. In the backseat was their cat Simi, who they rescued as a pregnant mother and watched over as she gave birth. Well Simi apparently didn’t want to leave the Lowcountry, because as the Lees drove through Goose Creek, the cat pushed the automatic window button to roll down her window and jumped out. Shocked, the Lees pulled over immediately, but couldn’t find her. Friends searched for weeks with no luck. They continued their journey to Texas heartbroken and Jenny says she cried almost every day. 30 days later, while scouring Lowcountry shelter websites, Jenny spotted Simi up for adoption at Pounce Cat Café in Charleston. Pounce gets all of their cats from Charleston Animal Society. The Lees called immediately, Simi was brought to the shelter and a tearful reunion took place days later, after an 18-hour drive back from Texas! Talk about true love.
That’s Not a Wig!
Earlier this year, Alex Barry was cleaning out his tow truck at American Towing. As he was putting trash in the dumpster, he saw a pile of hair, thought it was a wig, and walked away. Something in his gut told him to turn around and look again. To his surprise, the pile of hair was a very sickly kitten! He knew that she needed help fast and rushed her to Charleston Animal Society. When our team examined the kitten, she was just over two pounds, barely able to lift her head, and suffering from pneumonia. After she was stabilized and given life-saving antibiotics and oxygen, she was turned over to our team in our kitten ICU. There she received intensive care from Donna Osborne one of our most experienced long-term employees. Alex and his wife Crystal waited to hear her prognosis and adopted her as soon as she was available. Now named Raven, this kitten loves to have her belly rubbed and can’t get enough of her two doggie brothers Cornet and Ryder.
Reunited with Jerry after Two Years!
Jerry is a special cat who routinely checked on family baby Julia in her crib at night. So, imagine the Sires family’s devastation when Jerry just disappeared in November 2020, at the height of the pandemic. The family thinks a feral cat in the neighborhood spooked Jerry. As they posted on social media, put up flyers in their neighborhood and did everything else they could think of, Morgan Sires, her husband Robbie and their daughters Abby and Julia never gave up hope they’d see Jerry again. Two years later, they got the call they’d been praying for, when Charleston Animal Society rang to tell them they had Jerry! His microchip worked! A pouring rain couldn’t stop the Sires from rushing to the shelter to reunite with Jerry. After 24 months on the road, Jerry was in rough shape, but is doing great!
