When Georgina Price and her fiance Christopher Lardner adopted their first rescue feline, Herbie, the 16-year-old cat, was near the end of his journey. Sadly, Herbie .ᴅɪ.ᴇᴅ just months later. And even though the couple had only known him for a little while, they were heartbroken by his passing. The loss, however, had opened their hearts to someone new.
“I just kept thinking about all the abandoned animals that might only have five months left and would spend the whole of that time in a shelter,” Georgina said. “We decided we would look for an extra special cat that might take a little longer to find a home.”
When Georgina and her fiancé Christopher Lardner met Toby, he was cowering in the corner at the sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ, hiding behind his best friend, Quinton. The two were always together through thick and thin. Price realized that they both were scared of humans.
Toby the cat is 6 years old and looks wise beyond his age. He has .ғ.ᴇʟɪɴᴇ ᴄᴜᴛᴀɴᴇᴏᴜs .ᴀs.ᴛʜᴇɴɪᴀ (FCA), a condition in which the cat’s skin is very fragile, loose, and easily ʙʀᴜɪsᴇᴅ.
“It means that his body doesn’t produce collagen properly. It doesn’t heal as well as it should and sᴄᴀʀs very easily,”
But happily, superficial traits did not prevent Price from falling in love with the poor cat.
“I saw them on the RSPCA website and fell in love instantly. When we met them, they were both ᴛᴇʀʀɪfɪᴇᴅ and huddled right at the back. Toby just hid behind Quinton the whole time, ᴛʀᴇᴍʙʟing. I didn’t even get to touch him because he was just so scared.” Georgina said.
Together with her fiance, she filled out the necessary paperwork and officially adopted them.
“We’ll always take care of them and give them all of the love and sᴇᴄᴜʀɪᴛʏ that they need.”
Georgina talked that feeding them wasn’t easy. They had to lay the food under the bed and leave the room but fortunately, they slowly gained their trust.
As time went on, the two cats began to move around in the open, exploring the house together. As they slowly realized that they were at safety, they started to relax and open up to their owners. And then, one day, he began to seek affection from his parents. He even discovered cuddles!