Adopt a Domestic Short Hair (short coat)

Bahati’s Story...

I remember I was running as fast as my little legs would take me across a road in Cedar Falls on May 15th… then a big S.W.O.O.S.H. of air threw me into the air and I tumbled on the payment and slid into the gravel on the shoulder of the road…. then I heard a kind, soft voice telling me she was going to help me as I was gently picked up off the side of the road, barely meowing and in a lot of pain with a lot of blood on my face, and was softly slid into a carrier with a towel to lay on.    

Even though I was badly injured, I was still a LUCKY BOY that morning! My foster mom witnessed the whole thing and actually thought I’d been hit by the car! She has rescued cats for many years and I was lucky that she quickly did a U-Turn in the middle of the road to go back to pick me up, and rushed me to the vet… I probably would have died along the side of road if she wasn’t there, because most people would not have stopped to help me! Thank goodness the vet discovered that I hadn’t actually been hit by the car that SWOOSHED by me! Since I only weighed about one-and-a-half pounds, I was pretty light and probably fractured my lower jaw when I tumbled on the pavement, and the lower part of my face had been ‘degloved’ when I slid into the gravel … which means all the skin/fur had been ripped down from all around the bottom of my mouth down to my chin and was just hanging there!  WHEW! Did that hurt! But they were able to get me all cleaned up and get all the dirty gravel out and stitched it all back in place! My foster mom had to name me right away, and she decided to look up LUCKY in different languages as she sat at the vet’s office waiting for me to come out of surgery. She likes crazy unusual names, and decided that the Swahili word for ‘lucky' sounded really cool - so I was named BAHATI...(pronounced Bah-HAH-tee)! I think it’s a purrfect name - and different - LIKE ME!!  I was only about 7 weeks old and don’t know how I ended up on that road… she thinks I might have been dumped along with some other kittens because it was just outside of town where a small area of rural houses were. 

She had to gently help feed me for the next couple of weeks as my jaw healed and I learned how to eat, and I had to be confined in a kennel so I couldn’t hurt myself. I healed pretty good, except I now have a ‘snaggle’ tooth on the bottom where my jaw is slightly slanted! (Gives me a ‘tough’ guy kinda look!) I didn’t get to play much with other kittens while my jaw was healing; when I could finally get out of the kennel and start playing, I wanted to rough and tumble and act all crazy - so I was introduced to some nice, older kittens. I was a bit rough for them even though I was smaller, so I was partnered with an older female foster kitty so she could ‘mother’ me and try to make me behave - which she did! I’ve played with kittens now who are a little younger with me and sometimes get too rough, too… but they fight back so we get pretty wild sometimes! If I’m being honest, I might need to be with a kitty who will put me in my place until I learn proper manners. I do love to purr and purr and purr, and snuggle with my mom, too - but I still like to bite every once in awhile and she gets after me for that… NO BITE is something she is always telling me - I usually stop but sometimes she has to tell me a few times! Little kids might be afraid of me but I’m sure older kids would be fine! I’ve never been around dogs, but I might do OK with them if properly introduced! 

I really love to play with toys.. furry mice, anything on a string, balls, catnip cigars, feathery toys - and I slept with a stuffed animal in my kennel while I was healing and sometimes kicked and wrestled with it. I use my litter box all the time and I can eat soft and hard kitten food all by myself now, too!  I’m really excited that I’m ready to find a family of my very own now, and I hope they fall in love with my gorgeous shiny, soft and silky black fur coat! My beautiful green eyes are always alert and I don’t miss a thing - I’m always ready & looking for a good time!  

I am neutered, have had my FVRCP vaccinations and my Rabies Vaccination, I’ve been treated for parasites with Revolution, tested negative for both Feline Leukemia and FIV, and I’ve been MICROCHIPPED, too! Even with the surgery and all the laser treatments I had to help my jaw and chin heal, my adoption fee is only $100.00! That’s quite a bargain for everything I’ve had done!  If you love active kitties who had a hard start in life, I would love to meet you and see if I can S.W.O.O.S.H. you off your feet as you fall in love with my unique look and personality!  

Bahati lives in a foster home and is available to be seen by appointment. He may make appearances at our weekly open house events but please watch our Facebook page to see who is attending the events. You may also let us know if you want to meet him specifically and we'll set up a time.

If you would like to meet Bahati, please complete an application on our website at www.AdoptHope.org.