05/31/2026
Itâs Where Are They Now weekend, and this weekendâs featured pet is Romeo!
If you have been to the shelter in recent months, you may have been greeted by a fluffy orange tabby named Romeo! Or you might have seen him sprawled out on the office chair as a staff member perches precariously on the edge of the seat. No matter where he is, heâs not easy to miss! This is the story about how Romeo came to be our resident feline ambassador.
Romeo came to the shelter in February, after having been seen wandering around outside for over a month. He was very underweight and suffering from frostbite on his ears and the pads of his feet. It was clear that he had been starving while trying to survive the harsh winter, and wouldnât have made it outside on his own much longer. The lady who had brought him to us had saved his life.
It took quite a while for him to fully recover, and as we cared for him, we learned that he was an unusually chill cat with a calming presence that made other cats feel at ease. He would often befriend cats who were very skittish around people, and we noticed that they would lay close to him and even cuddle with him.
He wasnât bothered by dogs, and we could allow our leashed shelter dogs to approach him to see how they reacted to a cat. Thru Romeo, we were able to gain valuable insight into our shelter petâs personalities, which we could in turn pass along to the potential adopters who were interested in them.
Romeo proved to be so helpful that he was given a permanent role at the shelter as our resident feline ambassador. But helping us to evaluate other animals isnât his only job- he also holds the unofficial title of emotional support cat, as he will quietly lay beside or in the laps of visitors, purring as they pet him.
He also recently helped a visitor to begin to overcome their fear of cats by just quietly laying beside the person- not being pushy, not climbing onto them, but just by being a steady, comforting presence. It was a huge first step for our visitor!
Here are some photos of our sweet boy, starting with the day he went to the vet to be treated for frostbite, to his life today. As an added note- he did end up losing part of his ear due to frostbite, but we think it just adds to his charm. đĽ°
