By Sharon Wylie
Crash’s Landing
Each week WKTV features an adoptable cat from Crash’s Landing or Big Sid’s Sanctuary. Both cat rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Petrovich, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
Dr. Jen happens to think that ALL Crash Cats are good looking, but this guy right here is one hot commodity—and so flipping handsome she could hardly contain herself when she gazed upon his gorgeousness!
Hunky Heyward (born in late 2011) ended up homeless and helpless in mid-October 2016, when a cat-lovin’ rescuer provided him with the safety and comfort of a really awesome outdoor coop she has set up for the strays she often comes across out in her northeast Grand Rapids neighborhood. When Dr. Jen had the extreme pleasure of welcoming him into the program on November 14, he was extremely shy and suffering from severe dental disease; in fact, the neutered male had pockets of pus present in his mouth and was missing many teeth that had literally rotted and fallen out sometime before his rescue.
Heyward was pretty scruffy and matted, probably from not being willing to groom himself scrupulously due to profound oral pain, so Dr. Jen spruced and fluffed him up while he was under anesthesia for his surgery. He looked and smelled SO much better once he woke up and was able to enthusiastically dive headfirst into bowl after bowl of yummy, soft food!
Once at the shelter, Heyward hunkered down in his two-story cat condo and refused any and all human contact for two whole weeks, though he delighted in the endless supply of meals and didn’t mind people speaking softly to him. Then, all of a sudden, at exactly the two-week mark, he waltzed on out of his cage and demanded affection—and he hasn’t stopped since!
He prefers to stay tucked away out of the limelight but will seek out attention when all is quiet in the shelter. He is especially fond of belly rubs and lap snuggles; it could be that once he feels comfy and cozy in his new, mellow home, he will offer his tummy up for major pets and warm the laps of those who have chosen to take a chance on him, take him home and love him up one side and down the other.
Heyward deserves to be doted on and adored, and he will most certainly reciprocate your kindness with unconditional love.
Want to adopt Heyward? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Interested in volunteering at one of the cat shelters? Email volunteer@crashslanding.org.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
