By Sharon Wylie, Crash’s Landing
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
Social butterfly Smudgee was initially a Belmont rescue back in February of 2018 (we think she was four years old, born in early 2014) who was taken in by Focus on Ferals (FOF). They did their typical top-notch stray work-up, discovered she was FIV+, and was told she had already been spayed due to a scar on her ventral abdomen. So imagine their surprise when April rolled around and their sweet little calico-tiger girl popped out a litter of kittens!
Unable to house a mom and brand-spanking newborns at their facility, FOF enlisted the help of a dual volunteer who took in the beautiful brood and provided a cozy, comfy foster home for Smudgee and her three offspring until the kittens could be weaned and placed into their adoption program. Mama then went back to FOF and awaited her turn to find a home, but as the months rolled on by and she was overlooked time and time again, FOF enlisted our help; on Aug. 6th, Big Sid’s welcomed this darling, playful little lady as our newest member of a very elite group of kitties.
From the get-go, Smudgee has been extremely outgoing, always seeming to be around no matter where you are or where your gaze falls. She adores attention from the volunteers and is exceptionally tolerant of her surrogate son, Just Jack, who tackles her on a regular basis in hopes of getting her to chase him around. She mingles and mixes well with the older crowd too, and honestly is so laid-back that we feel she would thrive in pretty much any type of family situation—kids, cats and perhaps even a gentle companion of the canine persuasion.
Soon after her arrival, she discovered the joys of what we call our ‘feeding frenzy’ and since then has been a very enthusiastic participant; in fact, we are watching her dainty waistline so that she doesn’t eat so much as to appear pregnant—again! Interestingly enough, before Smudgee came down to our sanctuary, Dr. Jen had to extract all of the teeth behind her canines as her mouth was on fire due to an inflammatory condition known as stomatitis, a condition that is fairly common in FIV+ kitties.
And until Smudgee had partaken in the tempting tray feeding—get this—she was consuming kibble like a boss (even though yummy canned food was offered pre- and post-op at the clinic). Also on a positive note, since she doesn’t have a mean bone in her ever-expanding lil’ body AND she has only a few teeth to claim as her own, the risk of transmission to another household cat is negligible. Plus, will ya look at that ADORABLE FACE?! How anyone can resist that is beyond us.
More about Smudgee:
- Medium
- Calico
- Adult
- Female
- House-trained
- Vaccinations up to date
- Spayed
- Not declawed
- Good in a home with other cats, children
Want to adopt Smudgee? 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.
