The Pirate is a Pussy-Cat

Gordo (AM)

The SingleWide has been feeling quite empty in the last while – we lost all the “Egg-farm cats”; we’re missing Shaggy and Jimmy and Bossanova and so many others...  So it was good to welcome several newcomers in the summer months. I had mentioned McGregor in last week’s blog, but sadly, we unexpectedly lost him this week. 

Gordo  (BC)

The other newcomer in the SingleWide is a chonky boy called Gordo who came to us from Kamloops. He’s not been at his most beautiful with us; he had some medical problems when he arrived that resulted in surgery – there may have been some trauma causing them. His right eye showed entropion, with the eyelid turning inwards so that the eyelashes rubbed painfully against the eyeball. That’s a relatively straightforward surgery (though fiddly); what was not so straightforward was a complex TECA (total ear canal ablation) surgery on the same side. It was a lot for him to deal with, and he battled through it with the courage of his namesake, Gord Downie.

Big boy.... (JN)

Gordo now looks a bit like a pirate, with a crumpled haematoma ear and shaved on one side of his head. Because of his black colouring, he appears one-eyed, though he has in fact kept the sight in his right eye, He’s had a hard time being confined to a cage and coping with a cone of shame, and with limited visitors; now he’s out of prison and making himself at home. He reminds me of junkyard cat Bill in New Aids – but an entirely amiable version of Bill, who is not always friendly with other cats. 

Sitting in "pet me!" pose  (AG)

Gordo looks as if he’s had a rough life, but it’s not been a long one - he’s actually only about two years old.  Initially he presented himself as a serious cat, and was probably dealing with some physical discomfort, but it has become obvious that he loves attention from people. Through all of his cage time we tried to keep up with visits, and now that he’s no longer handicapped by the cone, and free of confinement, he’s ready to explore and to interact as much as the other SingleWide cats allow. He has appropriated Blaze’s favourite shelf for his exclusive use, and she’s been persuaded to relocate.

Come play with me!  (AG)

He loves to play - he will roll around and grab with his big mittens. In the cage he would happily come up for some lap time; now that he’s out and about, there’s a bit more competition for a lap, and he backs away from confrontation with Whiskers, who has appointed himself Top Cat. Gordo is a sweetheart; there's no nastiness at all about him, and though he's not a beautiful cat, he's very endearing, and it would be wonderful to find him a home where he can be loved.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Akira Graham, Anne Marchetti, Joanne Nicholson