When Brenda Wilkinson, the founder of Hands of Mercy Cat Sanctuary, rescued “Old Man Heff,” he was already an elderly cat, but his best years were still ahead of him.
Heff would soon discover what it was like to get a head scratch from a loved one in addition to having the necessary medical treatment to ease his suffering.
Before Heff arrived at Hands of Mercy, volunteers found him outside another rescue, presumably abandoned by his family.
Heff was bald due to a serious skin condition, and his skin was so greasy that volunteers at the first rescue were too nervous to pet him.
Heff was sweet and asked to be touched despite everything: “He simply wanted everyone to love on him,” Wilkinson said to The Dodo. I got him home and immediately began to spoil him.
On Heff’s first night at Hands of Mercy, Wilkinson started stroking his head for the first time while using a baby wipe and a drop of her preferred mild antibacterial cleanser.
Wilkinson claimed, “I was scrunching on his head and on his ears. He was simply taking it all in.
For the first time since being abandoned, Heff was finally getting the head scratches he’d been longing for. And he made it very clear to Wilkinson that he did not want her to stop.
“He bit me when I stopped petting him,” Wilkinson said. “That’s how I realized that he didn’t have teeth.”
Wilkinson soon realized that Heff was also struggling with diabetes, which he was diagnosed with soon after he got to Hands of Mercy, as well as the physical scars from his past.
“He looked like he’d seen all of the world wars,” Wilkson said.
Heff was fortunate to be at the ideal location to receive the care he need. His skin remarkably improved once he began receiving insulin injections twice day to help manage his diabetes.
Wilkinson quickly realized that Heff had already found a loving forever home in her, despite the fact that she had originally intended to assist him in doing so once he was well once more.
Now, Heff can get all the head scratches he wants without feeling any pain. And every time Wilkinson scratches her beloved senior kitty’s head, she can tell that he’s happy.
“He leans into me when I pet him,” Wilkinson said. “He’s just the most affectionate guy.”
