Demi is about to turn one. There should be presents. There should be treats. There should be an unnecessarily elaborate birthday celebration she absolutely does not understand.
There should NOT be a cage. But after months of waiting for someone to choose her, that is where Demi is preparing to spend her first birthday. And frankly, we would very much like to cancel those plans.
Demi is a petite, ridiculously adorable kitten who appears to have been assembled using equal parts woodland pixie, tiny gremlin and whatever substance makes popcorn kernels suddenly launch themselves across a room.
She is approximately six pounds of “what are you doing and can I help incorrectly?”
Demi has things to do. Things to pounce on. Things to climb. Objects to investigate. Activities to supervise despite having absolutely no relevant qualifications. Containers she was specifically not invited into. And approximately 47 extremely important appointments each day that only she knows about.
There is a huge personality packed into this tiny little cat, and watching her spend month after month growing up in a cage has been heartbreaking.
Demi has tested faint positive for FIV, and we know those three letters may be part of the reason people keep passing her by.
They shouldn’t be.
FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. FIV positive cats live long, happy lives with routine veterinary care, good nutrition and an indoor lifestyle. It cannot be transmitted to people or dogs and is primarily spread between cats through deep bite wounds, not through sharing food bowls, litter boxes, grooming or snuggling.
In other words, Demi is not sitting here feeling sorry for herself. She has no idea she has been given a label that might make someone hesitate. She is far too busy being Demi.
Playing. Pouncing. Exploring. Causing minor administrative problems. Making us laugh. And waking up every morning completely convinced that surely TODAY someone is coming for her.
Demi has already spent months of her very first year watching the world through the door of a cage. We desperately do not want her second year to begin the same way.
Her birthday wish is pretty simple. A home. A family. Some excellent climbing opportunities. A respectable toy budget. And enough freedom to finally determine exactly how much chaos one tiny woodland pixie can create when given an entire house.
We suspect the answer is considerable.
Please help us find Demi a forever home. No kitten should have to blow out her first imaginary candle from inside a cage.