People tend to think of millennials as young, trend-obsessed idealists, but Thomas the 26-year-old feline is an experienced gent who’s just looking for some late-in-life care and cuddles. His former owner surrendered him to Baltimore County Animal Services last month.
The Baltimore Sun reports that fellow millennial, Laura Cassiday, 27, of Dundalk, Maryland, was scrolling through animal shelters on Facebook last Wednesday when she saw the Baltimore County Animal Services post on behalf of Thomas.
Cassiday tells the Sun she was surprised that the elderly cat was only a year younger than herself, reading the post “three or four times to make sure it wasn’t a typo.” She picked him up the next day.
“Everybody at the shelter was so excited because he had been there for a month,” Cassiday, an admissions coordinator and animal care technician at Maryland SPCA, told the paper. “I know the toll that shelters take on animals, especially senior animals.”
Unfortunately, the super-senior kitty suffers from a handful of medical conditions, including severe dental disease, arthritis, hyperthyroidism, and an abnormal liver, possibly caused by hyperthyroid disease.
“His teeth are terrible — some of the worst that my vet has ever seen,” said Cassiday, adding that her vet also found a mass that could be a tumor. Due to his advanced age, Thomas has few options. “We honestly have no idea how much longer he even has,” Cassiday told Fox News.
Her vet has recommended giving him whatever medications are necessary in order to keep him comfortable, advising Cassiday to “feed him as much as he wants, let him do what he wants … I’ve been pretty much letting him live like a king.”
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Cassiday already cares for seven other felines in her home, but says “all the fame” that Thomas is getting is “incredible,” with over 1,000 followers doting over his newly created Facebook page “The Adventures of Thomas the 26-year-old Cat.”
Beyond the adage of “adopt, don’t shop,” Cassiday asks readers and Thomas’ fans to consider a senior or special needs pet instead of the typical puppy or kitten.
If you’d like to contribute towards this special, senior cat’s care via donations of food and litter, check out his Amazon wishlist.
