Willow Likes People – and Soft Food

After 12 dental extractions, this Cat Sanctuary resident is on soft food only – but she gets all the nutrition and deliciousness she needs thanks to our friends at Petcurean!

When new residents arrive at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary, it is often close to impossible to predict how they will fit in.

A cat’s personality is partly nature and partly nurture. When a cat has been living on the street or in some other situation where they have had limited interactions with humans, you never know if they are going to become people-loving affection-hounds or people-hating hiss machines, or something in-between.

Willow and her sister Amelia Earhart, who we estimate now are about 13 years old, arrived at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary together about a decade ago, but their lives took off in different directions from there. Amelia instantly made her home with the ferals and has no interest in humans, while Willow is definitely a people-puss.

This may well be because Willow arrived with an inner ear problem (a bout of vestibular disease), which required that she have a time of cage-stay, during which she came to realize that humans can be nice and that pets and strokes can be quite pleasant. Despite the ministrations of our designated “Kitty Comforters,” whose sole responsibility it is to convince new ferals and strays that humans are OK, Amelia never really warmed up to hairless bipeds. So they went their separate ways. Amelia has lots of feline friends, while Willow has inter-species relationships!

Willow hangs out in Pen 5 with her best-buddy Careen, with whom she is often cuddled up with in the porch chair. As time has moved on, Willow has become even more adventurous, socializing with cats and people all over the Sanctuary and she is always at the front of the crowd when someone shows up with chicken.

Along the way, Willow was found to have pretty serious dental issues. In all, she has had 12 teeth extracted. That means it’s soft food only for her.

When a resident has a health issue or, for example, dental problems like Willow, ensuring they remain healthy and happy means making sure they get all the nutrition they need. This is easy, thanks to RAPS’ superb corporate friends at Petcurean, makers of premium pet food for dogs and cats, who provide top-quality, nutritious and delicious foods for our residents.

When eating is a chore, keeping an animal interested in food is one of the crucial components of maintaining their health. Willow gobbles up canned foods from Petcurean’s Now Fresh line, and hundreds of other residents at the Cat Sanctuary get the balanced diet that is right for their specific needs.

We are so grateful to Petcurean for their support. They not only provide food to our animals, but that generosity means that we can redirect funds that would have gone into purchasing food into other lifesaving and enriching programs. Because we squeeze every penny out of a donated dollar, we can save and improve the lives of even more animals! That’s possible because of devoted partners like Petcurean!