The hardest part of helping Dante find a home has been that we didn't know him. The thing that sets us apart from other shelters is that we really know our cats. We can tell you their likes, their dislikes, their good characteristics, and bad. We know their quirks. We will never lie to you about these things because we want every adoption to be forever. We want to set you up to win.

We rescued Dante on June 10th. He spent the next seven days in the hospital. When he was released back into our care, he was so traumatized that he was pretty much catatonic. He had withdrawn so far into himself to heal that we couldn't even reach him. We were just happy if we could get him to eat a meal. We watched as the burned parts of his ears scabbed up and fell off. We were as careful as we could be when we pet him because almost everywhere we touched, the fur was melted and brittle so we knew that the skin underneath was also tender. He would spend the whole day in the same place without moving. Two weeks ago, I tried to take his picture to do an update, but when I looked back at the pictures, his eyes were still so dilated with terror, that I knew it wasn't time yet.

Last week, everything changed. We've cared for and worried about Dante from the moment we met him, but last week, we fell in love! He was finally present. He realized that when we pet the soft, unburned parts of his belly, it felt really good! He stood, stretched, scratched on his scratching post, talked, and flirted! Today, we played catch with a ping pong ball, and boy did we have fun! He is the most trusting pampered boy ever! He lay upside down while I gave him a pedicure and then just wanted me to start all over again. Now that we know him, we can tell you without a doubt that he's addictive, adorable, and amazing! Here are some pictures from when his ears were at their worst up until today. If you think that you can provide him with as pampered and peaceful a home as he's getting accustomed to, please come and meet him.

DANTE'S INFERNO

On Thursday, June 10th, Cindy and I witnessed a terrible tragedy and then became part of a dramatic rescue. We live in the same neighborhood and were checking in with each other by phone before leaving for the shelter. Cindy said she was hearing a lot of sirens and smelling smoke. I said I'd head towards her. We stayed on the phone together while I made my way on foot towards the entrance of our neighborhood. There we saw six fire trucks, several police cars and a house burning to the ground. Luckily, the elderly woman who lived there had been out walking her dog when the fire started so they were safe and were being cared for across the street. The tenant who shared her home wasn't there at the time. It was now just a matter of the house itself being destroyed, right? Of course not! There were scores of neighbors on the street witnessing the inferno and we could hear many conversations going on at the same time, but the one thing we heard several times was, "I think there might have also been a cat."

Well, that just changed everything! Cindy and I immediately started asking any firefighter, police officer, or reporter who might pass by if they knew anything about the cat that we were hearing about. We actually found one neighbor who said someone had tried to open the screened-in patio to let the cat out to safety, but that with all of the chaos, he spooked and ran the wrong way. Back into the fire! Finally, someone said that they saw a cat sitting on a chair in the screened in patio at that exact moment. It wasn't like sitting out in the fresh air though! With the heat index that day, the 90 degree temperature felt more like 100 degrees and the smoke was so thick and heavy it was difficult to even breath across the street! The fire fighters said that if we could bring a carrier, they'd go in for it. Cindy ran the couple of blocks back to her house for the carrier and almost didn't make it back in time. Moving through the air that day was like moving through molasses and she has lung problems anyway which were not being helped by the smoke. I found two young boys with a bike and said, "Please ride over to that lady! Grab the pink carrier from her and get it back here as quickly as you can!"

Between those two boys and the amazing firefighter in WPTV's picture above, we were finally able to get the kitty the medical attention it needed. Even with the help of a translator, (the elderly women who owed the home didn't speak any English), we were unable to learn anything about the cat. She didn't know it's name, sex or medical history. Her family didn't even know she had a cat. No one from the family has even called to see how he is doing.

We decided to name him Dante. He's still recuperating at Pet Vet Animal Hospital.

Here is a link to WPTV's Vince Norman's coverage of the fire:
Boca Raton fire leaves 89 year old woman homeless

Also, Alexia Campbell of the Sun Sentinel wrote the following article yesterday, June 14th:

DEERFIELD BEACH A Siamese cat rescued from a burning house west of Boca Raton is looking for a new home.

The male cat, now named Dante, is recovering from severe burns to his ears, paws and whiskers, according to Cindy Weber, director of Feline Friends in Deerfield Beach.

The nonprofit, no-kill cat shelter is paying Dante's veterinarian bills and will look after him while a new home is found.

Firefighters rescued Dante from a home fire Thursday in the 8200 block of Garden Gate Place. The cat had a 106-degree temperature and was placed on oxygen support, Weber said. He recently started eating on his own without an IV.

Dante's owner has not picked him up, Weber said, and likely can't take care of him. He is a Lynx Point Siamese cat, about 2 years old.

For more information, call Feline Friends at 954-596-0848.