This is Victoria. I found her lying on my stoop Saturday evening — in fact I almost stepped on her. She was partially paralyzed and I do not believe she could’ve gotten there unaided; I believe she was left there. I could see she was in bad shape — other than the paralysis she had an obvious wound, goopy eyes, a lot of missing fur.

We made Victoria comfy in a crate and arranged a veterinary housecall. Our vet noted that she was very pale and weak and presented with a number of other issues — dehydration, missing teeth, tremors, dilated pupils and more. We decided to watch her for a bit.

Victoria was very quiet in her cage and enjoyed some meals of broth. She was gentle and sweet, but not engaged and not really “with it” sometimes. However, she was noticeably worse on Monday morning and we made the decision to have her humanely euthanized.

Heartbreakingly, when I put the carrier in front of her cage she got up and did her best to get right into it. She trusted me — she was not afraid — she wanted to go wherever I was going to take her.

Because of her neuro signs and her unknown vaccine history she could have had distemper and was also a rabies risk. We feel confident we made the right, and humane decision.

Victoria could have been a (presently) unowned cat and somebody was trying to do the right thing by leaving her on my stoop. She was definitely someone’s cat — once — she was a sweet and gentle soul. We’re very sorry for whatever befell her and grateful we could give her what we could, at the very end. We only wish help had not come too late.

Several weeks ago we learned of a sad happening in our neighborhood. During some eviction proceedings one live cat, and several dead cats, were found in an empty apartment. Animal Care and Control were contacted, and a cruelty case was opened. During the time the case was open, kitty had to stay at the pound. But on Tuesday the case was resolved, and on Wednesday morning I drove over to ACC to retrieve the cat, who we are calling CCK (Court Case Kitty) Pounder (a bit of an homage to actress CCH Pounder).

He’s a very sweet and mellow boy! And so handsome! And so sweet!

Although he spent the last several weeks in a cage he seemed OK with being put in this carrier. He is now in a loving fosterhome and Fosterparents say he was immediately comfortable in the home environment and very friendly. He likes chasing toys and “nuzzling necks.” AWWWWWWWWWWW!

While I was there I met another volunteer. She was picking up animals — a kestrel, a pigeon, and an opossum — for Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation. When ACC staff brought up the possum we could see it was just a tiny baby. Sadly this baby died about half an hour after reaching the rehab center. We’ll never get the backstory on why this baby was there in the first place, but I want to take this opportunity to share the excellent Flint Creek “found an animal” factsheets again.

You can read more about the background of C.C.K.’s case here. He will be available for adoption shortly. Of course, we must have only the finest of homes for him. If you think you’re up to the task, email hydeparkcatsadoptions@gmail.com