Save Forrest!
October 14th, 2007
This is Forrest. Forrest, the Special Needs Cat. He was born with two gimpy back feet and he needs a home. Don’t you want to adopt him? Isn’t he cute? Maybe that’s not the best picture of him but maybe if you read the story below and then watch what I hope will be a heart gripping movie, you will want to hail a taxi, book a flight or jump in your car and head out to the sticks so you can adopt him.
My Mom lives in a rural neighborhood where somebody a long time ago had a bunch of cats that weren’t neutered or spayed. These cats kept having more and more kittens until her whole neighborhood was overrun with cats. Many of them are feral. My Mom loves cats and she has quite a bit of property so she has, over the years, adopted several of them.
First it was Bam Bam who she saved from a tree that was being cut down and nursed her to health with a little itty bitty baby bottle. Then there was Forrest and his brother Tiger. There were two litters after that where two kittens died because they were malnourished and that was last year. This year one of my mom’s own cats had kittens (because she didn’t make it to the clinic on the free spay day). Then Rapunzel was playing out in the neighborhood and found another litter where one kitten was caught in a vent of a mobile home, hung up on his own afterbirth.
Long story short, my mom has eleven cats. That is eight cats too many.
The major problem is that there are too many male cats in my mom’s house. When male cats live together, they mark their territory and sometimes that territory can be your couch or the bath mat or the pile of pajamas you left on the floor. You get the picture. It’s pretty nasty. My mom manages to stay on top of it usually but my Dad has put his foot down and said Forrest and Joey (next post) have to go. Meaning if we don’t find a home for them, they have to be put to sleep. Ugh.
My mom doesn’t want to get rid of Forrest the Gumpy Cat but she has to. He’s such a sweet kitty but he needs to be in a home where he is the only cat and where the cat box is changed regularly. He needs attention. He needs someone who can scratch his ears for him when he can’t reach them with his flippy back feet. Forrest just needs some special care. Maybe you will watch this movie and be that person.
Run Forrest Run from secretagentjo on Vimeo.
Did you cry? Did you sniffle? Or did you just wonder why my mom has so many ugly plastic chairs? How could you not love that cat? Did the sad music get you a little bit? I really tried. My Dad thinks people are going to read this post and think that they are horrible people who should have put Forrest to sleep a long time ago because he can’t enjoy life like a normal cat. I don’t think so. I think Forrest is a happy cat and deserves to live out his life naturally. What do you think?
Are you with me? SAVE FORREST! Everybody stand up and yell “Save Forrest!” Okay, you don’t have to do that but if you can help or know of anybody who can help, we would love to hear about it in the comments or via email. If you are on my Dad’s side of the fence, I’m sure he’d like to hear your thoughts too. And if you want some plastic chairs…. let me know!
Update: I forgot I had blogged about him before!
October 14th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
If I lived anywhere near you , I would totally take forrest off your hands. I love me an orange kitty.
PS go ahead and invoice me for the painting, it is so cute!
October 14th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
the video is marked as private. and, while i am deathly allergic to cats, i really enjoy looking at the little fellas…
October 14th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
I love vimeo but for some reason they are not letting me save this movie as public. I might have to re-upload it.
October 14th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I can see the video! Awwww sweet Forrest. I do hope you are able to find him a home. I live on the other coast and already have two kitties, so I cannot be that person, but he looks like a real sweetie!
October 14th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Awwwww, we’d totally take Forrest if we lived near you. We already have one special needs kitty, what’s one more?
October 14th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
I would also do something if not for living on the other coast in a different country. I hope that you find someone to love him.
October 14th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Being completely allergic to kitties, I had to suppress the need to sneeze throughout the video. Forrest is adorable. I wish we could take him, but then I would never be able to breathe.
On another note, I love that Baby Bug walks around with a binkie in her mouth and one in her hand for back up. Always prepared. I bet Zoe will be the same way. :)
October 14th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
ok, don’t know you, but now i officially love you. that’s how heartwarming it was. (except the part where BB pets the cat the wrong way (from tail towards head) - she is precious but that was like nails on a chalkboard!)
please let us know when forrest finds a home! (I already have an only-cat (who also needs to be an only cat) household or i’d be on a most exciting mission from NorCal right now!
October 14th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Forrest is so patient with BB! What a sweet kitty. I hope you find a home for him! Have you thought about putting up ads in veterinarian’s offices, or PetSmart? Or listing Forrest on a freecycling site? Our community’s website has a free want ads section. Just a thought.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:46 am
That video definitely got me choked up! What a way to tug at the heartstrings. I wish I could adopt Forrest but I live in an apartment where no pets are allowed (but shhhh I have a hamster) and there is the problem of his location - I am a poor college student living in New York state. Good luck with finding him a home, though!
October 15th, 2007 at 6:07 am
That song ALWAYS gets me! We’re in Ohio, and our dog Gus, doesn’t like cats :o( I am a total softie for animals, especially ones with special needs. I wish we could come and get him! Video is adorable with your BB walking around petting him…I love the pacie in her mouth and then she holds the other! That is too cute! I hope he finds a home soon :o)
October 15th, 2007 at 6:43 am
P.S. - I need a ton of plastic chairs…I volunteered to have our youngest daughter’s entire soccer team over for pizza and ice cream, Saturday - Yes, parents and siblings included - ACK! I wonder how fast we can get all of your mom’s chairs here - teehee :o) We dont have any patio furniture, so I am going to have to borrow our neighbor’s to make it “look” like we have some…..how I keep from laughing myself into an asthma attack, I’ll never know.
October 15th, 2007 at 6:55 am
That was actually painful for me to watch. I can’t adopt Forrest. Worthless Pet would have a conniption fit and spray all over the house (which he does already, but believe me, it would be a lot worse). But I know that there are several adoption options online which you might want to access to see if you can find someone local to save Forrest. Do a web search and see what you can come up with. And Good Luck!
October 15th, 2007 at 7:34 am
He looks to me like he gets around just fine and deserves a happy home. I live thousands of miles away so it can’t be me though :-)
My cousins have a cat that is missing a back leg and he too has no problems whatsoever living life to the fullest!
October 15th, 2007 at 8:26 am
I’m not sure but I think you could list him (and others) in the petfinder.com classified ads–they are free. You can’t put a picture up but this may reach a larger audience.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:01 am
I passed this around to all my animal rescue friends. You know, there are always ways to get the cat to a new home, even if it’s a little far away. So if that is the case, the rescue people will find a way to transport him.
:) LORI
October 15th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Ok, if I didn’t have two cats and live in Virginia, I’d take him.
SAVE FORREST!
October 15th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
He’s adorable. I love the gimpyness and he seems to deal with it just fine. I’d love another cat now thet I’m back down to just one. But I need one thet can hold his own with Kira :) Does your mom have any calm (translation: can handle a toddler) female cats that need new homes?
October 15th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Felix, I have a small black brindle kitten that does not have a home yet but she is too young to leave just yet. Button our mother cat is foster mothering them ( her and her brother). I’ll have Brenda send pictures. They should be ready to leave their foster mom in two weeks or so. I’ll let you know.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Run, Forrest, Run!!!
Ok, first, I’m allowed to make a joke of his name. That is why Shawn named him Forrest.
Second, I hope we find him a great home this way. He’s such a love. I only wish you had gotten him going up and down the ramp.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Oh dear — I tried really hard not to laugh as I watched the video but when his little hobbling matched the beat of the music I just lost it. But seriously I hope he gets a home he def deserves it. BTW… I love how BB was wondeirng around with two pacifiers - I was just waiting for her to offer one to Forrest!
October 15th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Oh gee, I’ve never seen a cat that moved like that and so quickly, too. Poor kitty. I hope this helps him get the home he needs.
SAJ, I was thinking about how your mom has so many cats. Down here in Tucson, there’s feral trap, neuter, release (they clip a bit of ear off when the cat is asleep so people can tell from a distance that the cat’s been neutered). If all the stray cats were taken away and euthanized, it was found that more cats, unneutered, came in to claim the empty territory. Keeping neutered feral cats around helps to keep the population in check. Could the cats stay outside? Or is it just too much?
I have two kitties- one a rescue- and it just breaks my heart when I hear of cats who don’t have homes. But- I understand the pee problem- we have to keep our two totally separate or there’s a “pissin’ contest!”
Please, please let us know how this turns out. I think Forrest’s unique style would make him a great mascot for an organization for the disabled. That kitty can go.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
I meant to say that it looked like Forrest could really move, not that he needed to “go” as in leave your folks’ house.
October 15th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Love the video. I wish I lived closer, because I’d so adopt Forrester. What an amazing kitty!
October 15th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
If anyone is really serious, we do have a way to get him here and there. My Dad is a cross-country trucker and will deliver Forrest if we find him a good home.
October 15th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
hi - i’m not sure, but is he fixed? if the cats are fixed there will be less fighting and obviously less procreation both indoor and outdoor….if you need some ideas on how to get funding for this kind of thing, I’m happy to help.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Oh how I do wish that I could take Forrest into my home. I feel like he has already entered my heart. Could you convince my husband that he is the cat for us? We had a cat when our son was young and at that point he wasn’t showing allergies yet. Now he has mild allergies, but I would think we could find a medication that would help out. The biggest problem is that we have birds. Our previous cat just ignored the birds-she didn’t seem to have the hunting instinct. If we could find another cat like that, I would snatch it up in a heartbeat. Forrest was the name I wanted for our son, but with the last name of “Oachs” I didn’t think we should go with it, but a pet…that would be perfect.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Forrest does not go after the birds he can not jump he might sit and chatter at them though and he is really good with kids and loves to be scratched behind his ears
October 16th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I would contact Best Friends Animal Sanctuary especially for your special needs cat before putting them to sleep. They are in UTAH but work with several rescue groups and have a wonderful cat sanctuary specifically for special needs. I live in MO and adopted two older dogs from their and through volunteers they brought them to me!
October 16th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Oh. Oh, oh, oh. This is so heartbreaking.
October 17th, 2007 at 3:44 am
I can’t even get my husband to look at the pictures of Forrest. I think he is afraid that if he sees him that he might fall in love too…
October 17th, 2007 at 6:36 am
I didn’t cry but I might’ve giggled. Is that wrong? I guess because my brother adopted a kitty in Hawaii who was a special needs kitty. This cat had been run over by a car, but lived to tell about it and when his hind quarters and bones healed the bones and spine fused together, so when he’d walk he would literally drag his butt around the house. Not only that, but you should tell your dad he’s lucky…my brother’s kitty had to be squeezed daily to pee and poop…they would squeeze him over the potty…I kid you not!!! I have it on video. I”ll have to dig it up and post it.
October 17th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
I’m with Lori/lorimo!! I will help her husband find Forrest a place in his heart. This is the kind of pet that Lori and her family needs. Lori is perfect, and patient with all - So this special needs kittie would be just fine. Especially if Antie Heidi needs to kittysit!! Lori, lets work together to get him to Minnesota!!!! Do you have any ideas?? Did I hear road trip???
October 17th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Thanks Heidi! You are really too nice to me. I am working on it, at least my husband has looked at the pictures of Forrest. That is a start.
October 18th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Sniff. Your dad is WRONG! Forrest is special!