Violet arrived at the Effingham County Animal Shelter in Illinois on Monday, and it was clear that the homeless cat had found a home right away. Violet’s rescuer, Michaela Muzzy, described her as “very, very delightful and loves to be scratched on the head.”
But it wasn’t just her happiness that hinted at the creature’s past—she wore a pink collar with a letter attached.
“Goodbye, Violet.” I believe the name chose you. I really wish I could keep you. Violet, I hope you find a good home. Please take very good care of her, owner. By the way, I gave her a name. Thank you very much! Lacey, love. ”
The touching message broke people’s hearts all over the shelter. A nice cat was looking for a home, but so was a toddler. “This really rips at your feelings when we peel it off and read it,” Vanessa Skavlem, a rescue center animal control officer, told The Dodo. “I can just picture a kid falling in love with this kitty and realizing they won’t be able to keep it.”
The shelter’s microchip testing resulted in a negative. After they couldn’t get in touch with Violet’s previous owners, they posted a picture of the dog and a written statement on social media.
The child’s plea for her beloved pet to find a good home moved members of the community, including Cindy Murray.
Murray’s eyes welled up with tears as she read the message on Facebook: Murray told The Dodo, “You could see it was written by a kid.” “You could tell she adored this cat, but she couldn’t keep her and wanted her to go to a good home.”
Murray ended up taking the day off from work to go to the shelter and meet Violet.
“I grabbed a copy of the post and emailed it to my spouse at work, saying, ‘I would like to go get this kitten.'” “I love it—talk me out of it,” she adds. Murray said. “‘You know I can’t do that,’ he said,” “‘Go get it if you want it.'”
Murray saw the tiny Siamese cat was distressed at the shelter and decided to take her home that day. Violet started to relax after she was returned to a loving environment: “She’s been purring and she seems extremely comfortable,” Murray said.
Murray merely wishes she could reach out to the young girl who cherished her cat and reassure her that everything would be fine: “I pondered creating a video for this kid in which I said, ‘Dear Lacey, I adopted your wonderful Violet.'” She’ll have a lovely life full of goodies, cuddles, and all we can offer her.”
