January was found curled in a ball on a porch and she wouldn’t move no matter what the homeowners tried. Hamilton Animal Control was called, and by the time they got to the home some time later, January was still in the same curled up position. The Animal Control officer took January to the vet and she was checked over, prescribed some medications and sent to Animal Control. It was obvious January has been neglected and malnourished for quite some time. She was painfully thin, matted and very dirty. She had serious skin issues and some trouble using her back legs. January was happy to be offered something to eat, and finished all she was given. A good sign! We rescued January from Animal Control and took her straight to our vet. She ended up spending two days there because she was in such rough shape. We then placed her into a foster home and continued her follow up vet visits. Though she gained weight and started to look physically better, she didn’t seem to be thriving emotionally. Her withdrawn and sad personality showed something was very wrong. After many vet visits and different medications, our vets told us she was likely suffering from a post traumatic stress disorder. We’ll never know what happened to her, but it was something pretty bad. January wasn’t a feral cat because you could handle her, but she would hide under the couch at her foster home and not come out until nobody was home. When her foster people tried to give her some attention, she would run and pee because she was so frightened.
It was decided she should be moved to another foster home where she might have a better chance at coming out of her shell. At the beginning, she would still stay curled in a ball for the most part, but her new foster home was able to brush her, (because she doesn’t groom herself) and spend a lot of quiet time just sitting with January and giving her pats and a warm lap to feel safe in.

When she was finally healthy enough for surgery, we took January to the vet to be spayed and have some much needed dental work done, it was discovered that she was already spayed. Someone looked after her and cared for her enough at some point in her life to have her fixed. But we will never know why her life took such a terrible turn to have her end up in Hamilton Animal Control in the horrible shape she was in.

After a few months, January’s new foster family were able to gain her trust and she started to come out of her shell. She would meow for treats and seek attention. She was eventually given access to her whole foster house, but she preferred to stick to the room she was comfortable in. When she was picked up and brought into another room in the house, she would sit herself down wherever she was placed, make herself comfortable there and not move from that spot until her foster family pick her up again. A strange behaviour for sure, but she seemed happy to be close to people wherever she was. January still spent a lot of time sleeping and hanging out in her favourite few spots in “January’s room”. She loved to be brushed and followed her foster people around the room for pats. And man, could she purr! It had been so long since she had done so, we think she was making up for lost time with her constant motor going! January had become a real sweetheart. She certainly wasn’t a “normal” cat by any means, but she seemed to have come out of her emotional darkness and could now enjoy the attention and love her foster family offered.

Because of her emotional issues and the amount of time it took for her to be comfortable in her foster home, it was decided it would be best for January not to have to go through the stress and potential setback a new home might cause. So instead of being made available for adoption, we made January a permanent resident, meaning, she would live out her days in her foster home under Ladybird’s care.

In early 2016, January was diagnosed with kidney disease. She did very well on medication for a few months, but her health took a turn in mid-June. Our vets confirmed that she was past the stage of any more treatment, so her foster family took her home, knowing they would have to soon make the sad decision to let her go.
On June 11th, January passed away peacefully in her sleep….warm and comfortable in her favourite bed.

Rest in peace special girl. You will forever be in our hearts.