In February 2016, Coconut was just another filthy, injured stray cat wandering the chilly streets of Boston when a lady saw him and realized she had to take care of him.
The fluffy, all-white stray appeared to not have much time left as a street cat because of his poor condition. His ears had scars and blood on them. And anytime someone approached him, he growled.
Cats have been rescued by Joni Nelson, the organization’s founder, for more than 30 years. She removed Coconut from the streets with the intention of neutering him and rereleasing him. He wasn’t tame, she recognized, but she felt unable to let him go.
“Poor Coconut was a mess,” Nelson said. He had a urinary tract infection, goopy eyes, ear mites, a limp, chronic diarrhea and was totally filthy. “But it was his nasty attitude that made him hard to like.”
Even though Nelson helped him get better, giving him medicine every day, he was still really mean. “He was very difficult to feed … He would never look up but sure would lash out when I opened his cage.”
Nelson realized that he didn’t always respond to visual cues and concluded he was partially blind. “After a long time, he started to calm down some,” Nelson said. “I could go in and clean his box and put down food without him coming at me but he still hissed whenever anyone walked by his cage. Still he never lifted up his head all the way, always looking down.”
Nelson soon discovered Coconut was deaf as well.
Nelson noted that it took the man “two really deep bites” before Nelson realized the man could only see shadows and was deaf. “No surprise he was so vicious. He was afraid and no one understands the anguish he went through living on the streets for so long in that situation. Many people encouraged me to put him to death, saying he was unadoptable. But I couldn’t put him to sleep or let him live his life in a cage.”
Months passed. And very, very slowly Coconut seemed to calm down. “It took a long time to get him to let me touch him,” Nelson said. But one day, he finally did. “First, just his head and only for a second or two.”
Volunteers made every effort to reassure Coconut that he was at last safe. He quickly learned the message. Nelson remarked, “He learnt to trust and love. Lots of love and care.”
Sherri DeLuca, Coconut’s initial foster mother, assisted Coconut in changing her mind. Then it was time for him to try Ashley Ward’s foster home. He came out from under the bed at his new foster home after just one night of hiding, Nelson said, adding that she was relieved. “I admit I was quite concerned he might go back to being terrified and unpleasant with strangers.
Coconut is incredibly delicious, according to Ward, who spoke to The Dodo. “He stumbles over to me to receive pets every time I enter the room. He immediately starts purring as soon as I begin to pet him. In order for you to pet him, he will cuddle up directly by your side and tuck his head under your arm.”
Since being saved from the streets a year ago, Coconut has come a long way, but he still needs a permanent home of his own.
One of the other BFF volunteers, Danapel C. de Veer, told The Dodo, “It has been genuinely amazing to observe the transition in Coconut, from fearful abandoned street cat to the kitten he is now, one that likes to be petted and loved.” It’s remarkable what kindness, security, love, and patience can achieve for a cat like Coconut.
