At The Comfie Cat Shelter, some cats unfortunately live out their life here. We keep them well cared for and loved. Some our volunteers foster when a cat may be close to end-of-life. In any circumstance, they are loved by us, but unfortunately got overlooked by potential adopters for whatever reason. We have created this page to honour our beloved felines that we have been fortunate to care for and love.
In Loving Memory
This is definitely a very difficult and heartbreaking share.
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"Blackie (Arthur) came in on Aug. 2017 with two other cats, Boots and Molly who were both seniors too as their owner had died. They were all friendly and everyone loved Arthur since he was so sweet. He always walked around with his tail entwined with another cat. His D.O.B. was 8/11/04 so he did have a long life and seemed happy at the shelter despite 3 trial adoptions that didn't work out." L.W.
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"Blackie was an amazing escape artist, he never let his old age stop him. He got so much love from our volunteers over his lifetime."J. Just
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"Blackie (Arthur) came to us in July 2017, and was one of our oldest residents at 19 years old! He was honestly like our miracle cat, thinking back to how many of our shy, timid or feral cats he helped come out of their shells and accept human affection. A few being our late Diablo and Merlin, as well as our lovely lady Lalu. He befriended these cats and many more, and showed them that our volunteers are nice people who just want to give them all love! I miss him terribly, and was with him the night before he went, where he was his old lovable self. I hope he is having fun and running around across the rainbow bridge with his buddies Diablo and Merlin, as well as all his other late kitty pals he has met along the way." A. MacDonald
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"Blackie (aka Arthur) was 'the man". He was known for bringing out the best in the other cats. He helped the volunteers be able to pet some of the shyer, more skittish cats like Lalu, Diablo, Merlin, Morgan, by buddying up to them so as you pet Arthur, you could sneak in a pet or two with the other cats. This lead to being able to pet some of the others on their own. RIP Mr. Man." T. MacDonald
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"Blackie was a sweetheart and one of the cats that volunteers looked for as soon as they came in. He could always be found cuddling with one of the other cats, or on his favourite cat tree. He will be so very missed by many." H. Hall
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With profound sadness and disbelief, our dear India has passed. India came to The Comfie Cat Shelter in May of 2017 at the young age of just 8 months old. She was brought in as a feral stray that had 3 kittens with her, all of which unfortunately did not make it (likely due to being out in the elements during birth). Fast forward to 2021-2022, India began to allow the volunteers to pet and bump heads with her as she was often in the front office, keeping a watchful eye on everything.
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"India was on her way to being socialized. Before our long-time volunteer; Lynne retired, she really began to warm up to her in her office, and loved giving her (and slowly, a select few other volunteers) head butts and allowing pets when she was ready! She was slowly becoming more social and understanding that we only wanted to give her love, but unfortunately got set back again once her buddy Lynne left. In her last 6 months, she was slowly letting the volunteers get near her again, but not quite to the head butt/petting stage. When her health took a decline, she let her walls down and was more willing to let us pet her. I enjoyed spending some time with her in her final days, giving her the pets and love that I know she always wanted and definitely deserved." A. MacDonald
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"When I first started volunteering at the shelter, India was not very friendly with me. I was new after all. She was weary and watched me from a distance. Over time, she became more friendly, and I gained her trust and respect. The first time she head butted me, I truly felt honoured, and she brought a tear to my eye. India liked her treats and was very happy to have a few when they were offered. She was a sweetie, and I will miss her head rubs." F. Ladouceur
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"India was not friendly until I was in the little office where many of the unfriendly cats came for treats and she continued to get tamer with me even when I moved to the large office." L.W.
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"India was one of the more timid cats at the shelter, but once you earned her trust she became a completely different cat. It was amazing to watch her personality shine through, she was such a special girl." H. Hall
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"India was such a beautiful girl, but she really kept her distance. I always thought she looked like the picture-perfect tiny black panther with the most stunning green eyes. I took this picture of her which I think incapsulates her beauty perfectly. India took a very sudden turn, one day she was fine and the next we were losing her, it was then, I wrapped her in a blanket and held her, petting her and speaking softly to her, I wanted her to know she was truly and absolutely loved, and she most definitely was." T. Reynolds
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Promise came to The Comfie Cat Shelter in 2014 at the age of 3 years old and as an owner surrender. Promise wasn't a friendly cat, she steered clear of the volunteers, a few times she even hid in the ceiling of the old Front Street shelter location, but would come down, especially when there was food and treats to be had.
"Promise was not friendly for a number of years but she like the kids from the family who came in and groomed the cats and let our other volunteer Moe pet her when she gave her treats. (I did name her I remember hoping that name might bring interest)." L. W.
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"Promise didn't always like me as I was the meds lady but she would always give me a loving purrr after we were done." J. Just
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"Promise was probably one of our longest residents, if not our longest. She was with us at our old Front St. location and moved with us to our current location! She was unique with one crinkled ear, and I always thought it was so cute to see. She lived most of her life scared of humans and never let anyone near her. However, in her last year or two, she slowly began to allow pets and love. She was never one to come to you for attention, but always accepted the attention when you went to her. I wish this girl would have gotten her forever home, but at least she was in a warm shelter, with lots of volunteers willing to give her the love that she deserved! She is across the rainbow bridge with her cuddle-buddies Seraphina and Cooper." A. MacDonald
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"Promise was usually found snuggled up with Serafina or one of the other senior cats. She was a quiet girl with a lot of love to give. It was an honour to know her and be a part of her story." H. Hall
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We are saddened by the loss of Promise, and though she did become somewhat friendly, no one ever considered her as a potential adoptee; we at The Comfie Cat Shelter loved her just as she was. May you find peace sweet soul.
It happened so suddenly and we are so saddened by the loss of Serafina. Without warning our sweet Seraina was gone.
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Serafina had come to the shelter in 2015 as a petite and very shy girl. Time and time again, she was overlooked due to her shyness, but she remained very loved here at The Comfie Cat Shelter. Serafina was just over 7+ years at the time of her passing, though we cannot say exactly her age as she was surrendered as a stray.
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"Serafina was a good girl who was usually snuggled up with some of our older cats. She was always well behaved when it came time for a routine check in." J. Just
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"I loved coming in and seeing this sweet girl with her crocked little head tilt and kind by cautious look. She often shied away from people at first, but if you sat quietly in the room with her, she would warm up and was always very watchful of everything going on in her room. You could often find this beauty snuggled up with her mates like Cooper, they were pretty much best buds. Goodbye sweet girl, may you find loving arms to snuggle into." T. Reynolds
We are extremely saddened to announce the passing of one of our resident senior, Cooper. The day before Cooper's passing he was very happy, vibrant and purring to his hearts content, loving up one of our volunteers, I suppose now it was his last hoorah. Today we knew something wasn't quite right, our volunteer held Cooper in her arms and he quietly and peacefully passed away.
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Cooper was left abandoned to roam our local streets of Orillia, likely for many years. His war wounds were evident and his confidence was quite low, it would take a lot for him to pop his head up and look at you, if he did so at all. Life was not kind to this sweet boy, but we are glad that someone saw him brought to The Comfie Cat Shelter in 2020 and off the streets to experience, a consistently full belly, a warm place to call home, nurturing volunteers that would love him up, oh and let's not forget his roommates and snuggle buddies Buddy, Serafina and River whom he loved to snuggle up with, feel safe and loved.
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For 8 years you may not have experienced love, but we are proud to say that we, at The Comfie Cat Shelter loved you dearly for the past 2 years. Fly high sweet boy.
It is with great sadness that we post the loss of our sweet Lucille. Many times and for many different reasons, great kitties get overlooked at shelters, this is the case with Lucille. Her last year was of incredible love and doting from her foster dad Myles. Myles has shares a little insight on Lucille:
Lucille had quite the unique way about her.
Very expressive, playful, affectionate and trusting of people. Always meowing out for companionship in her waking hours. She seemed like the most assertive cat in the shelter back in July 2020 - always calling out loudly when I was doing maintenance projects in the evening. Sometimes thought she was too trusting for her own good. When I'd had some home appraisers over, she greeted them instantly, with no caution - as though to say, "hey, did you come here to visit me?"
Lucille looked at you with these yearning or melancholy eyes - like she'd lived many lifetimes.
She also loved to bask in the morning sun or hover by the big floor heat duct.
Her vocalizing was mostly varieties of meows, trills, and her purring was very subtle, almost a whisper - you had to listen with your ear to her neck to sense it.
She'd thrive when chilling on my lap or shoulder, especially when I was just reading, taking a coffee break. One of her habits was tugging at my pant leg while I was on the computer, and she wanted some Temptation treats or different food. Her idea of play was to get me to run in circles with her around the upstairs furniture. She was quite possessive of me after settling in here and warned (hiss!) the other cats not to invade her space. Often wonder what her early years were like - maybe lots of scarcity, and she wanted to make up for lost time by being fussed over.
She was diagnosed with advance kidney problems in January of this year (2021) and hung on mostly in good spirits till the past 6 weeks. Barb and Sarah set me up with the special kidney care food, and we did many sub-cue hydrations, and did what we could to comfort her as her strength waned. Barb and I miss her dearly.
- Myles