A Rescue Cat Gets a Second Chance – Meet Oatmeal!
Oatmeal spent his formative months fending for himself in and around Central Park. After he was rescued he had difficulty forming bonds with humans or relating to them as a typical domestic cat.
Here’s his story as told to us by his parents, Daniel and Claudia:
“Oatmeal is [12] with a presumed birthday of 1/25/2013. We learned that he was found, only a few months old in Central Park. He then went to ASPCA and [to foster care] after a few months.
[He] then was adopted at I think around 7-9 months old.
In 2022 or 2023 he was returned to a shelter and he was matched as a former ASPCA kitten and returned there.
We began fostering him around… mid 2023.
[On the] 5th of July 2023, [we] started fostering him. As no serious inquiries to adopt him came in, the ASPCA concluded that he would not be adopted and informed us that they would euthanize him. We would not accept that and adopted him.”
We approached Oatmeal’s apartment with a mix of excitement and trepidation. We dressed for the occasion, in long pants and old shoes. We brought gloves just in case….
Oatmeal greeted us at the door with multiple head rubs (to mark us), but didn’t hiss or growl much. His initial focus was on getting to know us. That was encouraging. We knew he’d probably act out at some point, but his initial response was pretty typical for a self-assured cat (know who you’re dealing with).
He was immediately interested in play. We were prepared for this with a backpack full of toys. There were additional toys in the apartment, giving us a wide variety to choose from. He particularly loved attacking our toy mouse. One thing we noticed immediately about Oatmeal was that he played with intensity, and he enjoyed it thoroughly.
Of course, one has to be careful when he comes near. Oatmeal is not a fully domesticated house cat, He sees anything moving as fair game for attack. Changing litter, giving him water, and cleaning up food must be done carefully.
Oatmeal likes to sneak up from behind so we position ourselves facing him whenever possible. Still, he will occasionally launch attacks–but they’re mainly aimed at our shoes. And he clearly enjoys it! For Oatmeal, it’s all play, as his purring attests to.
Most sitters passed on Oatmeal. We’re happy we accepted the challenge and have come to love Oatmeal (and I think the feeling is mutual)!
Oatmeal was a wild cat for years, living in and around Central Park. He grew up without human companionship and fended for himself. When he was rescued he had difficulty forming bonds with humans or relating to them as a typical domestic cat.
Here’s his story as told to us by his parents, Daniel and Claudia:
“Oatmeal is [12] with a presumed birthday of 1/25/2013. We learned that he was found, only a few months old in Central Park. He then went to ASPCA and [to foster care] after a few months.
[He] then was adopted at I think around 7-9 months old.
In 2022 or 2023 he was returned to a shelter and he was matched as a former ASPCA kitten and returned there.
We began fostering him around… mid 2023.
[On the] 5th of July 2023, [we] started fostering him. As no serious inquiries to adopt him came in, the ASPCA concluded that he would not be adopted and informed us that they would euthanize him. We would not accept that and adopted him.”
We approached Oatmeal’s apartment with a mix of excitement and trepidation. We dressed for the occasion, in long pants and old shoes. We brought gloves just in case….
Oatmeal greeted us at the door with multiple head rubs (to mark us), but didn’t hiss or growl much. His initial focus was on getting to know us. That was encouraging. We knew he’d probably act out at some point, but his initial response was pretty typical for a self-assured cat (know who you’re dealing with).
He was immediately interested in play. We were prepared for this with a backpack full of toys. There were additional toys in the apartment, giving us a wide variety to choose from. He particularly loved attacking our toy mouse. One thing we noticed immediately about Oatmeal was that he played with intensity, and he enjoyed it thoroughly.
Of course, one has to be careful when he comes near. Oatmeal is not a fully domesticated house cat, He sees anything moving as fair game for attack. Changing litter, giving him water, and cleaning up food must be done carefully.
Oatmeal likes to sneak up from behind so we position ourselves facing him whenever possible. Still, he will occasionally launch attacks–but they’re mainly aimed at our shoes. And he clearly enjoys it! For Oatmeal, it’s all play, as his purring attests to.
Most sitters passed on Oatmeal. We’re happy we accepted the challenge and have come to love Oatmeal (and I think the feeling is mutual)!
