Pulling up to her local animal shelter the other day, Alexa Chapman could already feel a ball of emotion welling up inside. She was there to meet a senior cat named Merlin, who’d been recently surrendered to the shelter with severe dental issues, and
hoped to give him a second chance at life through her organization, Longleaf Animal Rescue.
Chapman didn’t know much about Merlin’s origin story when she picked him up. But as she flipped through his file in the car and came across a handwritten note, she suddenly started to weep.
The note, which opened by describing Merlin as a “very sweet, gentle [and] loving” tabby cat with a cauliflower ear, turned out to be a desperate plea for help from an elderly widow who loved him deeply but couldn’t afford the medical care he needed.
“He cannot swallow,” the note, which Longleaf shared on Instagram, read. “He gags and chokes on food. It terrifies him, and he has stopped eating over the past few days. This has been going on for months and is getting worse.”
The woman shared that he was one of 26 colony cats she cared for, and although she fed him wet food in gravy, she could tell that something was wrong just by hearing him eat.
“When he chokes, you can hear loud grinding, like teeth grinding, at the back of his throat,” the woman wrote.
Chapman was saddened to learn that Merlin had been suffering from mouth pain for so long. But her heart truly broke reading how the woman felt about him.
“I love him. I would take care of him forever,” the woman wrote. “All 26 [cats] are neutered and vaccinated — by my effort, but I don’t have money for veterinary care beyond that. Please be kind to this lovely boy.”
Chapman immediately called the woman who wrote the note and shared that she’d saved Merlin. They were both overcome with emotion on the call.
“She started crying because she didn’t think anyone was going to help him; she just didn’t want him to suffer,” Chapman told The Dodo. “She was heartbroken to have to surrender him … She wants him to be safe and loved.”
Chapman promised the woman to do just that. She took Merlin home for foster care and scheduled the soonest possible vet appointment. There, a veterinary team decided that Merlin’s best option would be to have his teeth surgically removed.
And although he was in pain leading up to that life-changing surgery, Merlin’s personality remained just as gentle and loving as the note mentioned.
“Merlin has been the sweetest boy from the very beginning,” Chapman said. “Most cats don’t like to be picked up, but Merlin loves to be held and pet while he makes biscuits in the air. If you give him scratches just right, he sticks his tongue out a little bit.”
Merlin recently had his dental surgery, and after a few days of recovery, Chapman is happy to report that he’s finally feeling better.
Longleaf is now accepting adoption applications for Merlin, and they hope to match him with someone who is retired or works from home, since he loves sitting in laps all day. They’d also love to find him a home with a catio, where the once-feral cat can “still feel the breeze and the warmth of the sun on his fur.”
Chapman is hopeful that Merlin’s perfect match will come along soon. Until then, she’s committed to loving him each day and reminding him just how special he is.
“Brown tabby cats often get overlooked in the shelter; I am so happy that Merlin’s story has resonated with people,” Chapman said. “He’s one of the kindest cats I’ve ever met.”
