Bryant: Holding Out Hope for a Forever Home

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Bryant and his buddy Hercules just hanging around the shelter (2)Bryant, a beautiful domestic short hair with a sleek black coat, arrived at Good Mews Animal Foundation in 2011 as a stray kitten with three other siblings. They were all scared and a bit skittish at first, but with time Bryant’s siblings all grew into loving cats and were easily adopted.

Unfortunately, Bryant’s journey has not been so simple and he is still waiting for his forever home. Bryant is a very special cat with many adoring fans at Good Mews- a cage-free, no-kill cat shelter in Marietta, Georgia.

He is just a bit more complicated than the other cats and you have to know how to interact with him, something that many people do not have patience to learn when searching for a cat to bring home. He is very cautious of humans. If you can get past the initial hiss, he will let you slowly pet him. All in all, though, Bryant has come a long way in his two years at Good Mews.

If Bryant’s problem with trusting humans wasn’t enough of a strike against him in the adoption world, this was compounded by the fact that he developed urinary problems at a very young age. Bryant is prone to kidney and bladder stones, which can be not only painful but can also lead to urinary tract infections and even urinary blockages, which can be life-threatening if not caught quickly enough.

Bryant first had one large stone removed in an extremely costly surgery in 2012 and is currently on a urinary diet and supplements to try to curb the production of crystals and stones. Then in June 2013, the unthinkable happened!

On an average busy morning at the shelter, volunteers noticed that Bryant was not acting like himself. He seemed to be in distress, although there were no clear signs as to why. Everyone acted quickly, though, knowing Bryant’s medical history and predisposition to urinary blockages. He was immediately taken to a vet where it was discovered that there was indeed a blockage. Bryant was lucky, as the blockage was caught in time and removed. However, his problems were not over. He had to have another costly surgery to remove other stones that were found on the ultrasound. In all, Bryant had eight additional stones removed that day!

He has now fully recovered and is back at the shelter with his feline friends. Bryant will continue to struggle with bladder stones, which can possibly cause deadly urinary blockages. He may even need further surgeries in the future. These are all major strikes against him finding a forever home, in addition to his nervousness. Bryant licking his lips after a snack (2)

Thankfully, he is at a shelter that is committed to providing him the love, enrichment and medical care that he needs, regardless of how long it may take and even for the rest of his life, if necessary. Many shelters would have given up on Bryant a long time ago.

In many ways, Bryant is like so many other cats. He loves to play and eat treats and to chase anything moving, including cat dancers, feathers and laser lights! He is also always looking for a way to get an extra nibble when the wet food is being prepared for the other cats. He loves other cats, too, and is very bonded with several of the cats that he lives with, often sleeping with them and grooming them.

Everyone at Good Mews holds onto the hope that the perfect person will walk through the doors and will bring Bryant to a forever home, someone who will be willing to work with him and who will look past his flaws and see his wonderful qualities.

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Good Mews Animal Foundation is a cage-free, no kill haven for homeless, abused and abandoned cats located in Marietta, Georgia.  We house approximately 90 feline residents in our shelter and often have another 30 or so in foster care due to age or medical condition.  Our mission is “finding good homes for good kitties”, and while our ultimate goal is adoption into a loving forever home, we will take any Good Mews cat back if their home does not work out.  The shelter receives no government support, relying solely on donations of time and money from our supporters.  We pride ourselves on providing a loving environment and the best possible medical care to our residents while they await their forever homes.

 

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