Baby Clooney started life under heartbreaking circumstances.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate ~ Damon and Clooney
He and his brother, Damon, were discovered in an abandoned home with no mother to care for them. The neonates were just 2 weeks old and covered in tons of fleas, dangerously perched atop a pile of garbage.
Under the garbage was another sibling that had passed away.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate
Thankfully, a local rescue in Tampa, Florida, took the boys in on April 8th. Their precious lives were saved from certain death and their futures were bright.
Damon was quickly adopted once old enough to be fixed, leaving sweet Clooney to patiently wait for his turn at a furever family.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate ~ Damon is off to his new family
Foster mom, Jen Tate happily shared the loving and cuddly Clooney on her social media sites hoping to help the young boy in his search.
Jen realized Clooney had some unusual quirks for a cat.
Acting more like a dog than a cat, he would lay with his belly in the air, happily inviting rubs! He followed her around like a puppy and absolutely loved getting attention. She lovingly referred to him as a “dogcat”.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate
By July, poor Clooney still hadn’t found a family to welcome him though.
Due to his friendly attitude, Jen was hoping he’d find a home that had another cat or even a dog to keep him company. She knew in her heart this little man wouldn’t be happy as a solo cat.
He was growing each day. Not even 4 months old and Clooney had already reached 6 pounds! Kittens this age usually weigh around 4 to 5 pounds. He was not overweight in an unhealthy way, just a BIG boy.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate ~ Big Boy Jellybeans
Clooney loved to show off his big boy paws and was still a huge snuggler, announcing it with extremely loud purrs of pleasure.
Jen’s home constantly has a rotation of fosters and Clooney absolutely loved the other foster babies.
One boy who was fighting his own battle was Sailor (read his happy tails story here). Sailor suffers from Megaesophagus, causing him to have trouble digesting food so needs a custom feeding bowl.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate ~ Clooney says I’m a mega kitty cuz I BIG! one chair for my left foot and one for my right!
Clooney was more than willing to step in and support Sailor during the difficult mealtimes. If it meant a little extra snack for the growing boy, even better!
After numerous trips to the adoption events, long hours spent in a cage were exhausting…not to mention disheartening, to his foster mom.
Sweet Clooney was happy to spend the time napping and cuddling with his fur family, calmly and hopefully waiting his turn.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate
And his day finally arrived!
On August 4th, Clooney was adopted with foster sister, Lucy in the Sky!
Not only would he have a new family, he already had a bond with Lucy and the two could grow up together.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate
Sadly, Jen received a call from their adopter only 9 days later.
In the short time she had the kittens, she had suffered 4 severe allergy attacks. She didn’t know she had allergies and wouldn’t be able to keep Clooney and Lucy in the Sky.
Both cats returned to Jen’s home.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate
It wasn’t long before Lucy was adopted again, leaving Clooney behind.
Jen knew there was a purrfect home out there for him, but seeing the handsome ginger cat skipped over at each adoption event was heartbreaking.
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate
Although sweet at the events, it is almost impossible to show the cats true and friendly nature when in a scary and unknown environment.
“Cuz what else ya gonna do all day when you’re stuck in a cage in the middle of Petsmart? Clooney, Sailor, and Bennie and the Jets catch up on their beauty sleep during another PetSmart adoption event. Way to sell it, boys!”
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate ~ Adoption event chilling Clooney, Sailor, and Bennie and the Jets
As August was coming to a close, Jen continued to share Clooney’s story, spreading his love in photos and videos far and wide.
On the 26th, their wishes were granted. Clooney found his FOREVER FUREVER home!!!
The family has another cat as well as a dog, and they believed he would be the perfect fit to join them.
Jen knew it was going to be sad to see him go, but that is the goal when fostering.
“He will be missed greatly, but saying goodbye will allow me to keep saving more precious lives in jeopardy.”
Photos Courtesy: Jen Tate
When she received this update and photos from Clooney’s new family, her eyes watered with joy for her little man who’d come a long way to find his happy ending.
“Hi Jen. I wanted to let you know that Clooney is doing very well. He and our dog are best friends, side by side or running and playing constantly. Our older cat has adjusted too. We adore the little rascal…he is so sweet! You did an awesome job fostering him. Thank you for entrusting him to our care. We couldn’t be more happy.”
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate ~ Clooney and his new fur-family <3
It was justification that holding out for a family that would give him “siblings” was the right choice. Congratulations to Clooney and his new family =)
Photo Courtesy: Jen Tate ~ Happy smiles all around Clooney’s new famiy!
REMEMBER TO ADOPT, DON’T SHOP AND ALWAYS SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PETS!!!
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