PA Rescue Pairs Senior Cats With Senior Citizens For Purrfect Friendships

Senior cats often go overlooked in rescues and shelters, but one rescue group in the Lehigh Valley of Philadelphia has made sure senior cats are finding happy homes with those that understand them best—senior citizens.

The Feline Urban Rehab and Rescue, or FURR for short, aims to better the lives of all cats. And through their Seniors 4 Seniors program, kitties in their twilight years get a chance at happily ever after while brightening the life of cat-loving seniors. And for 72-year-old Ken Johnson and his feline buddy, 13-year-old Tully, the program has been a success, filling both their lives with happiness and love.

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Connecting Old Cats and Elderly People

When FURR began Seniors 4 Seniors in 2020, the aim was to help senior cats find comfortable and loving homes while bringing the option of caring for a cat back to senior citizens that face financial roadblocks. Working like a long-term foster care setup, the Seniors program covers medical costs like medication and vet visits for the elderly cats involved.

Seniors 4 Seniors program chair Heather Sweigert explained, “The biggest obstacle in the way of senior citizens adopting animals is typically the medical bills, so by us covering those bills, we allow seniors to get the love and benefits of having a feline companion without having to worry about unexpected costs.”

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When making placements, FURR takes time to consider each applicant and the felines in their care, doing their best to make purrfect matches between the cats and cat lovers sixty-two years and older.

RELATED: 8 Ways To Help Ease Your Cat Into Their Senior Years

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A Golden Friendship

Ken Johnson and his cat Tully illustrate the magic of Seniors 4 Seniors as Ken has always been a cat lover, but having a cat on a fixed Social Security income seemed impossible. Thanks to a flyer handed out by Meals on Wheels, Ken and Tully found each other, and now Johnson is “the happiest [he’s] been in years.”

“It’s nice to have another living creature that wants to be with me and relies on me,” Ken shared.

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“He gives me someone to care for and someone to care for me. He’s a gentle soul who’s gotten in the habit of sleeping next to me, which is wonderful, and then jumping on my chest to get me up in the morning. He’s just so affectionate.”

Ken also explained he and Tully were meant to be, both enjoying a slower pace in life as they’re similar in age at Ken’s seventy-two and Tully’s sixty-eight in cat years!

“We have the same type of life, so that’s why we bonded,” Ken said. “He’s my little buddy, and we have a great friendship.”

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RELATED: Consider Adopting a Senior Cat For These 6 Amazing Reasons

And if the day comes that Ken can no longer care for Tully, he takes comfort in the fact his feline friend is legally under FURR’s care, meaning he can return to the shelter if the need arises.

For more information on the Seniors 4 Seniors program, email info@felineurbanrescueandrehab.org, call (610) 881-6700, or visit the Friends of Feline Urban Rescue & Rehab on Facebook.

Feature Image: Friends of Feline Urban Rescue & Rehab/Facebook

The post PA Rescue Pairs Senior Cats With Senior Citizens For <em>Purrfect</em> Friendships appeared first on iHeartCats.com.



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