Rio’s Story

Jul 11

Life at the Shelter

Rio is a shelter original. He was rescued with his siblings in Waterford as a kitten and brought into our original shelter, back when it was run out of a garage in Courtland.

Rio was the shy one of his litter and being a black cat as well meant that he was often overlooked. Rio grew up at the shelter in Courtland and each time the shelter expanded and moved locations, Rio went with it. We like to think he didn't mind moving, because each time the shelter expanded it meant more friends for him to meet.

Rio became known as the king of the shelter. He is a great big black panther, with white toes on both of his back feet. At first glance, you would think that the other shelter cats would avoid messing with Rio because of his intimidating size, but truthfully he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He loved all of the other shelter kitties and you would often find him cuddled up on top of the kennels with one of his friends Springer or Gensing.

When he wasn't hanging out with his buddies and overseeing his kingdom, Rio LOVED to play. He could definitely tap into his inner kitten. His absolutely favorite toy was the infamous red laser dot.

Rio also loved the volunteers, but if the shelter was too busy he would disappear. However, if you were lucky enough to be the first one there in the morning, he would be right at the door to say hello. He was living but cautious, perhaps this is why he was overlooked by potential adopters for many years.

That was until the day Rios new Mom came into the shelter looking to give a home to an overlooked kitty.

Rio’s Adoption

An Update from Rio's Adoptive Mom:

Our adoption story with Rio is a bit unique. We were talking to Brenda about adopting and I said that I would like to choose a cat that doesn’t have a great chance of being adopted otherwise. I asked if she knew who had been there the longest and she suggested Rio.

She originally thought he had been there 6 or 7 years but after looking at old photos she discovered it had been 10 years!

He’s a beautiful cat but is very shy and is older so there just wasn’t a lot of interest. We were really unsure that he would adjust and we knew it might not work out. It took a few months for him to come out of his shell but he’s doing amazing! As I am typing this he’s rubbing up on my legs and purring loudly. His favourite things are watching tv, eating treats, playing with his toys and sleeping on the dog’s bed. He lives with his dog brother Levi, an 8 year old Boston Terrier and PCON adoptee Keswick, as well as my husband, daughter and I.