Written by Sue-Anne Walklett
Professional photography by The LetterBox Productions
One cold, wet Friday I saw a post on Facebook looking for urgent foster care of a male adult cat.
I immediately made contact with Sura from CAAA (Capetonians Against Animal Abuse) and offered foster care for the cat. The same evening, she brought over this smelly, dirty and scared cat. He was a rescue cat that Sura had managed to capture. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I felt this cat needed someone to take care of him.
Gandolf was scared and immediately hid under the bed. Because we had two other cats, we knew it would take time before he got used to them.
For the first few days Gandolf hid in the bedroom under the bed. When he did come out, all he wanted to do was escape. We had to bath him a few times as he reeked of oil and was very dirty. Gandolf was such a good boy and didn’t fight us when trying to bath him.
Within about three weeks Gandolf settled down. Each day he grew more loveable and started taking care of himself.
It didn’t take long for our whole household to fall in love with Gandolf – he’s such a loveable cat. As a matter of fact, everyone who meets him just loves him. So, of course, Gandolf was a foster fail.
It really breaks my heart to think that someone would just abandon this beautiful cat. He has such a loving nature that everyone adores.
Gandolf has adapted so well to us having bunny rabbits as well as kittens. He takes care of the kittens as if he were their mother and plays and cleans them.
We’ve had Gandolf for eight years and can’t imagine our lives without him in it.
I truly hope this story inspires more people to adopt an adult cat, as they can be just as playful and loving as a kitten.
