When Fran found herself wanting to welcome a cat in to her home, she knew that a rescue cat was the way to go. "I need them, and they need me," Fran said.
“I have always had a cat in my life,” recalled Fran, a 72-year-old pensioner from Pomona, Queensland. When her previous cat, Jamaica, passed away in August 2017, Fran was left feeling very empty. Not only did Fran feel this loss, but her two-year-old dog, Ollie, did too. “Ollie had only ever lived with a cat and needed a friend too,” Fran said.
Jamaica’s passing coincided with a busy time in Fran’s life, which included a 10-week stay in hospital. After being unwell, Fran decided that time was too precious to waste, so she began looking for a rescue cat to adopt and keep her and Ollie company on their acreage property.
Fran was really keen to rescue a cat, as she felt there are so many that needed a home. “I need them, and they need me,” Fran said.
Coming across PetRescue’s Seniors and Shy Cats campaign was excellent timing for Fran. “As a pensioner, the reduced fee was attractive. But the safety net was really important to me too,” recalls Fran. The safety net meant that, should something happen to Fran in the future, her feline friend would be looked after by the rescue group she was adopting from - a special feature of the Seniors and Shy Cats campaign.
The first step towards adoption for Fran was making direct contact with PetRescue’s Shy Cat Co-ordinator, Caren, who gained an understanding of what Fran was looking for in a companion kitty, and then provided her with some profiles of shy cats looking for a home in Fran’s area.
Fran was very eager to open her home and heart to a cat in need, and immediately felt a connection when she found Monkey (now Mr D) while browsing the RSPCA’s listings online. Not wasting any time, Fran made her way to the RSPCA shelter the following day to meet him.
“I knew I would come home with him when I saw him,” Fran recalled. Monkey was in an enclosure and came over to Fran, rolling around on the floor right next to her. Fran reached over and gave him a pat and belly rub, and he just kept rolling and purring. She knew she would adopt him. “Taking him home with we was a no brainer,” said Fran, who immediately fell in love with Monkey.
The name Monkey didn’t last long, however. His carers at RSPCA called him Delicious as a nickname, but as he didn’t answer to that name (or any name in fact), so Fran decided to go with Mr D.
Introducing Mr D to her home, as well as her canine companion Ollie, was an incident free process. From the moment Fran let Mr D out of the carrier, he and Ollie have been fine together.
Recalling her first few months with Mr D, Fran shared one of her favourite moments that makes her laugh every time she thinks about it.
“It was like the scene from the Tom Cruise movie ‘Risky Business’. Ollie and Mr D were chasing each other, as they often do. They do laps through the loungeroom, down the hallway and past the dining room where all the floors are tiled. All of a sudden, Ollie came running past the dining room doors, followed by Mr D who just slid across on all four paws until he came to a stop. He looked at me, then took off again after Ollie. It was very funny!”
Fran plans to build an outdoor cat enclosure for Mr D, so that he can safely spend some time in the fresh air. And once this is done, she hopes to return to PetRescue.com.au to find more rescue cats to adopt, giving them a second chance at love too.
The future looks extremely bright for Fran and Mr D, and this bond was definitely meant to be. Nowadays Mr D sleeps right next to Fran every night, wanting his belly rubbed. Fran said she sleeps with one hand on his tummy! “I think he was waiting for me to come along and adopt him,” Fran says proudly.