[Vision2020] Caturday (June 9, 2012)

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the Napa Patch (Napa, California) at:

http://napa.patch.com/articles/cat-rescued-in-iran-finds-home-with-napa-family
  
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Cat Rescued in Iran Finds Home with Napa Family
Found shot in the face and clinging to life on a Tehran street, a tabby named Maloos has been adopted by a family in Napa after a long journey of rehabilitation. 

An Iranian cat that was found injured on the streets of Tehran earlier this year has a new lease on life after being flown to the Bay Area and treated, then adopted by a Napa family this week, a spokeswoman for San Francisco Animal Care and Control said.

Maloos, a small 2-year-old orange-and-white tabby, was found stuck to the pavement in Tehran in April, soaked in gasoline and mud and covered with abscesses. He had been shot in the face and had deformed hind legs and spine problems, rendering him immobile, Animal Care and Control spokeswoman
Rebecca Katz said.

A concerned woman in Tehran called the Sayeh Animal Guardians, and someone who was part of that organization happened to know a person who was about to fly to San Francisco and could take the cat. The group reached out to San Francisco Animal Care and Control for help in treating the injured feline, whose name means "cute" in Farsi.

On April 15, Maloos was picked up at San Francisco International Airport, and under the care of ACC, he has undergone several surgeries and is now outfitted with a "wheelchair" to give him mobility.

Katz said that despite a missing back leg and congenital deformities, Maloos is growing accustomed to his wheelchair and is "playful, spunky and very congenial."

After hearing news of Maloos' arrival in the Bay Area, residents became smitten with the Middle Eastern cat, expressing interest in adopting him and donating money for his care -- allowing the city shelter to provide for him without dipping into taxpayer money, Katz said.

"We normally don't take animals out of county, let alone out of the country," Katz said.

The ACC held an adoption lottery last week after a growing list of families said they wanted to take care of cat, Katz said. Napa resident Laila Aghaie and her family won the lottery, and took Maloos home on Wednesday.

Coincidentally, Aghaie and her family are of Iranian descent and Aghaie has already started working with the Iranian-based animal rescue group.

Aghaie apparently had a special connection with the cat, who responded well to some Farsi phrases, and the tabby seemed to enjoy playing with Aghaie's 10- and 12-year-old children, Katz said.

Katz said Aghaie is contemplating publishing a children's book about Maloos' tale, with proceeds from the book going to international animal care and rescue efforts.

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Maloos







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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"If not us, who?
If not now, when?"

- Unknown


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