Back when the Model-T Fords were rolling off the line in earnest, the advertising slogan went as follows: you could have any color you wanted, so long as it was black. Well, in that same spirit, it turns out that Washoe the cat loves people — so long as they remind him of his former person. …
Washoe once had a fantastic home. He lived with an older couple and was as loved and spoiled as a cat could ever be. When his family passed on, Washoe came to live at Best Friends.
Here at the sanctuary, to be honest, it didn’t appear that Washoe liked people much. He doesn’t hiss or anything, but if someone tries to pet him he sort of scrunches down and looks away, waiting for them to stop. This has been fairly consistent among all visitors and caregivers. As best anybody could tell, Washoe had made up his mind about people — they weren’t for him.
He’s also had a bit of a rough road with his health. Before coming to Best Friends, he lost an eye to cancer. And since arriving at the sanctuary, a large blood clot formed on his spine that temporarily paralyzed three of his legs. The poor guy couldn’t walk. He went to Vegas for an MRI, and was put on quite a thorough medical program back at the sanctuary. Through medical treatment, physical therapy, and lots of TLC (as much as he allows, anyway), Washoe has been on the mend. He’s regained the use of his legs and has been learning to walk again.
Yet throughout everything, he continued to avoid people. Until one day when a stranger walked in. An older gentleman was visiting and volunteering at the sanctuary with his wife. That particular day, Washoe was hanging out in cat manager Bobbie Foster’s office for some extra physical therapy time. This volunteer was in Bobbie’s office checking what to do next, when he reached down to pet Washoe.
All at once, something lit up inside Washoe. He sat up straight for the petting session. Bobbie couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Then, Washoe started lifting his head and smushing it into the older man’s hand, pushing for more attention.
Around this time, one of Washoe’s caregivers happened to see what was going on and couldn’t believe her eyes. "He just doesn’t do that!" they both told the visitor over and over. Then, Washoe even started licking his hand. At that point, tears started falling. The women had never seen this side of Washoe before.
In a perfect world, of course, the volunteer would have had room to adopt Washoe, but his home was already full with other cats. He was only there for the day to help out. Still, it was incredible to see that Washoe really can connect with people. In fact, when this person left the office to go visit another room in the building, Washoe hobbled after.
Bobbie was absolutely floored. "Trust me, he doesn’t follow anybody." After this little episode, she did a little digging and found some photos of Washoe’s previous person — an older, silver-haired man, slender frame, kind-natured face. Just like the volunteer.
And then Bobbie remembered something else. Since Washoe’s person had bequeathed the cats to Best Friends as part of planned giving, she had personally gone to pick them up (this was about a year ago). She’d ended up talking with the neighbors while there and they couldn’t say enough good things about him — Henry was his name. Every single time Henry’s name came up, people who knew him always said two things: he took care of his wife, and he took care of his cats. They had nothing but admiration for Henry.
When the cats came to Best Friends, along with their detailed medical records, it was obvious he spared no expense when it came to their care. No doubt, Washoe and the other cats had an amazing home. Can a cat be blamed for missing such a great family?
Maybe Washoe has had a hard time saying goodbye, but if this recent experience was any indication, he just might be ready to let somebody else inside. So … anybody know a kind-hearted, gentle, silver-haired man (married or single!) looking for a soul mate cat?
Story by David Dickson
Photos by Best Friends staff
There are many wonderful felines at Best Friends, like Washoe, who are searching for loving homes. Check out the Adorable Adoptables to see if you find your soul mate.
