HAPPY HOME.
BURK’S FALLS – A cat, which has been known until recently as Arrow, has found a loving home.
In the Aug. 16 edition of the Almaguin News, it was reported that a Burk’s Falls couple had discovered the mature cat near their home with an arrow protruding through both sides of its body.
After seeking medical attention and ensuring the cat was well on the road to recovery Hans and Aila Schnitzler began the hunt to find the friendly feline a home.
That home comes in the form of another Burk’s Falls resident Kate Williams, who according to Hans, lit up the moment she set eyes on the cat.
Williams read about cat in the paper and, knowing that it would likely be facing costly medical procedures in the days ahead, decided to take the plunge.
She was taken with the cat right away.
“He was so sweet and loving,” she said. “When Aila and I went in to see him for the first visit he was hidden under a shelf in their house and surrounded by stuffed animals. He reminded me a bit of ET in the cupboard.”
She says Aila laid some treats on the floor but the cat bypassed the treats and instead went over to the women for some loving.
“He wanted to be petted and cuddled,” she said. “He’s a head bonker, a licker, a cuddler and a kneader.”
Loxley was renamed because Williams thought that every time she used the name Arrow she would think back to the trauma the animal has suffered so she broadened upon the name.
“Robin Hood, according to myth, was the Earl of Loxley so I named him Loxley,” she said. “It’s kind of a refined name for kind of a beat-up little cat.”
Loxley paid a visit to the veterinarian on Monday, Sept. 10 to be neutered and to tend to a collapsed eyeball, which will be removed.
He had lost part of his tail at one point; his fur has since grown over.
“My veterinarian seems to feel he might have been hit by a car and that’s why he’s lost some of his tail,” said Williams. “He has one little chip on his tooth.”
She says the cat has likely used six of his nine lives and the veterinarian feels that Loxley is about three years old.
“He is such a sweetheart despite everything that has happened to him and all of the things that humans have done to him,” she said. “He is the loveliest and sweetest boy.”
This is cat number four for Williams, who has Loxley temporarily separated from the other animals in the house. He will be introduced slowly to his housemates.
Loxley should feel right at home with his new friends. There is a big stray with banged up teeth and a notch out of his ear, a little female rescued after someone tried to drown her, and another cat that a friend had to give up.
“I take in the kind of lost ones that might not have a home. I absolutely love and adore them,” said Williams. “Over the years I’ve had cats I’ve adopted them at 10 or 11 to give them a home in their later years.”
She also has a Sheltie dog and is planning on getting another soon.