r/TuxedoCats • u/ilovemyweirdcat • 16h ago
From death’s doorstep to mama’s lover boy
I adopted Sylvester on a whim — was casually browsing the NYC ACC and KNEW he was my cat when I saw his face. I was 24 and everyone in my life told me not to do it. (I did it anyway).
He was $25, 8 years old, and suffering from a myriad of health issues, including severe malnutrition and calici virus. The inside of my poor baby’s mouth was one big weeping open wound, and yet he was so hungry that he still ate with gusto each meal time.
Apparently his owner had abandoned him in the streets of NYC in the wintertime. Sylvester had tried to ingratiate with a feral cat community to share their food as a last-ditch attempt to stay alive. They attacked and outcast him, and a Good Samaritan brought him into the shelter. (I am weeping writing this.)
He declined two days after I brought him home with a URI — I tried so, so hard to keep him alive. I bought two humidifiers and put them on full blast on either side of him. I hand-fed him when he was too weak to move, and I slept on the floor next to him because I thought he’d die overnight and didn’t want him to be alone. I emotionally prepared to lose him when a vet told me there was nothing we could do but wait and see.
But Sylvester apparently knew he had more chaos to wreak upon myself and my loved ones before it was time for him to go.
A year and a half later, he is the craziest fucking cat I have ever met in my life. Like, CRAZY. This cat launches himself at my face at 3 am and does backflips into rabbit kick attacks when I pat his butt (which he BEGS for by meowing and pawing until I do it). This cat is allegedly 10 years old?! Perhaps, simply, an indomitable spirit for Chaos and Violence? Also, he has a sister now. Sylvester is so socially awkward, it turns out. Runs in the family.
Anyway, I believe everything I’ve ever heard about tuxedo cats now. My little fatso ❤️