The Purr Project, Inc

Street came to us in 2009 from a feral colony in Hamden, Connecticut when a good Samaritan contacted The Purr Project about a big cat in the colony whose eye was infected shut. Although we do help individuals and other organizations maintain feral colonies, we rarely accept feral cats into our program. 10 minutes after meeting this cat we knew that he would be an exception to this rule.

​

He was about a year old, was an absolute mess, as shy as can be, but had the heart of a lion and the disposition of a dove. He didn't seem feral at all. Obviously, someone abandoned him in the woods where this colony lived.We named him “Street”, for his toughness.

​

The next step was to get him cleaned up and stable - especially his left eye - which did not seem terribly infected but something was obviously amiss. Uh-oh, what’s this? This looks like ringworm! Just great! So his first visit was to the dermatologist – and yes, it was ringworm. Next, was months in the isolation ward, weekly sulfur baths, and doses of specialized medicine to get rid of the ringworm. Of course this story is much too simple as 13 other cats and 3 volunteers were also infected!!

 

While in isolation, Street developed a particular bond with Gizmo – another 1-year-old male cat - they truly became best buds.

 

After 4 months in isolation and more than $3,000 in medications and testing for all 14 cats, it was finally off to the ophthalmology specialist in Norwalk, CT. Fortunately, the eye wasn’t infected but was just severely underdeveloped.

 

Eventually, the underdeveloped eye was removed and Street blossomed into a big, handsome, kitty who did just fine. After a few weeks, Street and his best buddy Gizmo became brothers as they were adopted together by a true cat lover where they are still together today!