Life After the Lab

The 30 animals who arrived at the League when a North Carolina research facility was closed and facing allegations of animal abuse, were not in great shape.  They had been given very little reason to trust people.  And it was clear from their behavior that any sort of joy—or even contentment—was the last thing they would have expected from life. The cats were worse off than the dogs.  They wouldn’t purr, play or (heaven forbid!) try to elicit any attention from people.

That’s why we were so thrilled to get the following letter from a woman who had adopted two of the research laboratory cats.

“Hi, WARL,
I just wanted to update you on my girls. They are growing, thriving, and I’m in love with them. Muffin, who had the leftover sneezing, is on another antibiotic, and it seems to have helped a lot. …  We’re on top of it all and it has gotten a lot easier now that I’m medicating only one once daily. It has been a long 6 weeks, but they are so much better.

Cookie is such a loving little thing; she is my dream cat and Muffin is not far behind. Cookie likes to sleep on my neck with her little face right next to mine. Her whiskers tickle my nose. Muffin also comes around and wants loving, but she is my explorer and my guard. They both follow me around. … Muffin jumps on top of Cookie and “grooms” her followed by rough and tumbling play….

My son…really loves these girls but how could he not? They are so sweet. He plays with them and delights with their dog-like behavior.  My vets are so impressed by them, considering where they came from. It amazes me: their sweetness.”