A black-and-white tuxedo cat had an open wound no one could heal. Now, he chooses to strut around the home in a turtleneck.
Sir PurrCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
Sir Purr is a lot of cat. He is a big, four-year-old tuxedo who carries himself like a kitten a fraction of his size, and who has apparently never been told that he is not, in fact, pocket-sized.
His road to that foster-home strut started at a New York City municipal shelter, where a rescue called Whiskers-A-GoGo pulled him from the crowd. He arrived with what everyone understood to be a healing wound, and at first he seemed well on his way.
After a few weeks, it became clear the wound was not healing at all. Sir Purr isn't quite ready for a home yet, and the reason turned out to be a small mystery that took a whole team to solve.
Sir Purr, announcing himself the day he came into rescueCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
One of the first things his rescuers learned is that Sir Purr has opinions and shares them freely. He announced himself from his carrier with a wide-mouthed meow, the kind of greeting that makes clear this is a cat who intends to be part of the conversation.
The wound itself sat in a spot that made it hard to protect. He didn't qualify for a cone or a bandage, and any bandage anyone tried, he removed within minutes. So he scratched, and the scratching sent him back to the vet again, and again, and again.
The wound that refused to heal, and kept sending him back to the vetCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
For a while the wound refused to explain itself. A veterinary clinic in Bushwick, the Neighborhood Vet, took him in to board and get to the bottom of it, and the answer didn't come quickly. It took repeated visits, a run of diagnostics, and more than one consultation with skin specialists before the picture finally became clear.
Through all the handling and rechecks, Sir Purr stayed the picture of patience, content to rest in someone's hands while they worked. The answer, when it came, was manageable. He is dealing with some skin irritation and allergies, and with the right treatment, things finally started looking up.
Turtleneck on, chin up, ready for a very important announcementCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
His real breakthrough arrived in his foster home, in the form of a tiny turtleneck. Snug over his shoulders, it keeps his busy claws off his healing skin, and it has turned a medical necessity into the most distinguished look in the house.
He wears it, frankly, beautifully. Perched on a step ladder in his teal turtleneck with his whiskers fanned out, Sir Purr looks less like a patient and more like a cat about to give a very important speech. Whiskers-A-GoGo's Eva put the verdict plainly: he looks "absolutely fire in his little turtleneck."
When the sun goes down, the zoomies beginCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
It took about a week for Sir Purr to show his foster family exactly who he is. "He is sweet, cuddly, and very much a people cat," Eva of Whiskers-A-GoGo shared with LoveMeow, a cat who soaks up every scrap of attention that comes his way. Toss him one of the small mice toys he loves and he will chase it clear across the room.
And then the sun goes down. "Once the sun goes down, he loves to have the zoomies all over," Eva shared with us, and the cuddly gentleman becomes a blur of black and white tearing joyful laps around the room.
For a cat who hates being alone, even a stuffed panda helpsCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
For all his swagger, Sir Purr is a gentle giant, and his foster says his favorite place in the world is stretched out on your chest while you lie down, purring like a small child who has gotten exactly what he wanted. He flops belly up without a care, a substantial cat who would like to be treated like a lap kitten, and his caregivers are only too happy to oblige.
His foster has also noticed something that matters for whoever takes him home. Sir Purr gets lonely, and a bored Sir Purr grows restless, so he is not a cat who will be content left to his own devices for long. Even a stuffed panda is better company than an empty room.
Two cats, no complaintsCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
Company suits him, and he went looking for it. A four-month-old kitten is fostering in the same home, and Sir Purr couldn't resist him, curling up close and folding the two of them into a single small hut without a hint of protest. For all his size, he plays gently with the little one, and a feline companion would likely be a welcome addition wherever he lands.
He may not stop at cats, either. His foster watched him hang around the dogs at the vet without a trace of worry, which suggests this friendly giant is happy to count just about anyone as a friend. Eva sums up his whole outlook as "the more friends, the better."
Reaching across the floor for his buddy, because why nap aloneCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
The two of them have become a matched set, stretched across the floor with their paws reaching toward each other even at rest. Sir Purr is, in his foster's affectionate words, "a boss," a cat who knows exactly what he wants. He communicates his preferences and will let his person know, in his own direct way, when he is hungry, when he wants to play, and when he has had enough.
When Sir Purr finally does settle, he settles all the way. He sprawls across the best chair in the house. He falls deeply, thoroughly asleep, and his foster reports that he is a committed and enthusiastic snorer, which somehow only makes the giant baby more endearing.
The distinguished gentleman, off dutyCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
Whatever he wears, Sir Purr commits to it. In a tropical-print shirt, he looks ready for a vacation he has earned, and carries the whole production off without a shred of self-consciousness.
Between costume changes, the distinguished gentleman goes off duty. He rests on the nearest surface, and lets the day drift by like a cat with absolutely nowhere to be.
Feeling the tropic vibeCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
A wound that wouldn't heal brought a whole team together to figure Sir Purr out, and what they found underneath it was a four-year-old cat who is convinced he is a kitten, dressed like a gentleman, and certain that everyone is a friend not made yet.
He is longer and lankier than he thinks, and entirely at home stretched across a foster-home floor. When the day comes that he is fully healed, the family that finds him will get a substantial, turtleneck-clad, softly snoring companion who wants nothing more than to be part of everything.
No alarm set hereCredit: Whiskers-A-GoGo
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