Usually when a cat goes viral it's because they have grumped their face or gotten into internet-worthy shenanigans, but Susie the cat just became famous for an entirely different reason. Her dying owner wrote a letter to the cat's adoptive family in hopes that it would inspire someone to consider adopting her. The owner, who has not been identified, was forced to give Susie to a shelter in Maryland on May 15 after she was unable to care for the 5-year-old tabby herself. Susie has been in the shelter ever since — but the letter that her owner originally penned for her has attracted enough attention that she hopefully she won't be for long.
"I'm sure that when she wrote it, she wrote it just to the intent of getting it to the adopter. But we realized Susie was wasn't going anywhere. Some cats are really great at selling themselves and Susie wasn’t selling herself," said Katherine Zenzano, the community outreach coordinator of Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center, in a statement to ABC News.
The letter describes Susie as a shy cat with extreme fear and trust issues. The owner goes on to explain that it took her a full eight months to convince Susie that she was her friend, and that the companionship they had after that was well worth the struggle.
Here is Susie's owner's letter in full, which was posted to the Huffington Post:
Dear friend
Thank you for adopting my friend, Susie.
She was one of three cats in a litter.
November 15, 2010, is her approximate birthday.
She moved in with me on December 1, 2010.
Until I felt sure she knew where her home was, I kept her in the house.
After she was left out, she disappeared for four days. I thought I would never see her again.
On the fourth night we had an unusually loud thunderstorm. There was no rain, just noise.
That morning when I went out to call her, I did not expect to see her, but she came a running. She came in the house with me and has not been willing to go out again unless I go with her.
She became an indoor cat.
Susie is afraid of everyone and everything. It took her six to eight months to realise I am her friend.
I have tried for a long time to get her to go outside. She won’t do it unless I go with her.
Perhaps if I could go for walks with her she would get used to going outside but I am too unstable to leave my front porch. She will go on the porch as long as I go with her. The best she will do is walk along the garden next to the front porch.
I believe she would follow me if I could go for a walk.
It would be nice if she would make friends with our dog. They get along together but Susie keeps some distance from the dog. I never worry about them when I leave them in the house together.
Susie is unusual but I enjoy her company. She is a good snuggler but she likes to be the boss. She enjoys being petted. She spends much of her time on my bed but always seems to know where I am.
I hope you enjoy Susie as much as I have.
The employees at the shelter where Susie is currently living say that they have gone out of their way to make Susie feel loved and protected there, but that she is still ill at ease. Several people have come forward offering to adopt the tabby, but none of them so far have been local — fingers crossed that Susie finds her furrever home soon.
Image: Pixabay
