Ryder Beats the Odds

Ryder Beats the Odds

Ryder was nearly dead by the time he reached the vet. All as a result of human abuse. The vet was about to put this 12 week old kitten down when Ryder put out a paw and made a tiny squeak and literally touched the vets heart. In that moment the vet decided to do all he could to save this little scruffy cat. With loads of care and time, this cat slowly gained strength.

This is where we found him, 3 months later, in a cage at the vet. He was now feisty and strong with such personality. We were actually at the vet for another cat and on the way home I said to Leigh, “you know that we are going to have to go back and get him!” Those people who know Leigh would understand that she needs no second invitation, so we turned back and fetched Ryder and brought him to our sanctuary.

That was about a year ago. Ryder has not grown much so he is a small cat with a big heart, you could say that he leads the pack. When he arrived here he was put into isolation with 2 or 3 other new cats. They could best be described as ‘shy’, as they were unsure of their surroundings and and really human averse. Ryder changed all that, from the moment he arrived he owned the room. He played and showed the others not to be scared, it was amazing how quickly they followed his lead. He is still the master of the sanctuary, the one who has the most fun. He chases, ducks, dives and has a ball most days of his life.

We often look back and say that we are so glad that we went back for this little boy as life without him, for us and all the cats in the sanctuary would be positively boring…