Meet Diamond and Stanley Blaze on Change a Pet's Life Day

Today is “Change a Pet's Life Day,” a day devoted to encouraging animal adoption and spreading awareness of animal welfare issues. 

There are many ways to participate, but I chose to share the amazing stories of two rescued cats, Diamond and Stanley Blaze, and the amazing women who rescued and adopted them. 

Vicky is a Facebook friend in Tampa, FL who I met through our cats.  She is an amazing woman.  Her timeline is filled with cats that she rescues, feral colonies she feeds, and the many cats she helps through TNR.  There is never a cat Vicky shies away from.  In May 2013 she found a cat so covered in scabies that he couldn’t open his eyes.  While he sat there and cried to her, she coaxed him into a carrier and took him immediately to the vet, where the staff were horrified.  He had abscesses on his front legs and could hardly move any part of his body. He was thin, dirty, and his hair was matted so badly his backbone could be felt when he was petted.  Vicky took him home and started his medication regimen while syringe feeding him. Her husband named him Diamond, because he had a diamond shape on his head and he was a diamond in the rough.  

Slowly but surely he started to recover and the question was who would adopt him? This is where Kerri, also from Tampa, enters.  Kerri followed Vicky’s cat, Flipper, on Facebook and when she looked at Diamond's photos she thought he was the most amazing cat she had ever seen.  During Diamond’s treatments she would log on to Facebook every morning to look for updates on him, even while she was on vacation. When Diamond was ready for his very own forever home she just knew he belonged with her and her family (where he quickly became a daddy’s boy.) 

I don’t think it was any coincidence two years later when Vicky received a call from a woman about a cat that showed up in her yard “in bad shape”. When the woman said he looked like someone poured hot oil on him, Vicky immediately suspected scabies – and she was correct. Since Vicky had experience with this she knew she could pull him through.  The woman actually told Vicky to put him to sleep and to not bring him back around.  Well, that was not on the agenda.  A trip to the vet confirmed that he was a neutered male (yes, I said neutered), and was diagnosed with not only scabies but was FIV positive.  Vicky named him Blaze, treated his scabies and every day saw improvement while he sat in his cage and talked to her. (I LOVED those updates!) She treated him for 30 days and continued to post his incredible progress on Facebook. 

And guess what happened next? If you guessed Kerri and her husband entered the picture again, you guessed right! Kerri’s heart once again shattered into a million pieces when she read his story. She was determined to help Vicky find Blaze a home, but Kerri’s husband had other ideas.  He fell in love with this amazing cat through the videos Kerri showed him and they both decided he needed to be a part of their family. They already had a cat that was FIV positive and he would fit in perfectly.  Kerri and her husband added Stanley to his name and he became Stanley Blaze.

Thank you, Vicky and Kerri, for making such a difference in the lives of Diamond and Stanley Blaze. Without you both of their futures were bleak and hopeless, but now they are living the life and enjoy being treated like royalty. 

Please visit Flipper’s Facebook page for his amazing story and updates on cats Vicky helps, and Diamond’s Facebook page for updates on him and Stanley Blaze. 
Dawn
Photos courtesy of Vicky and Kerri