New Year, Renewed Commitment

Omyo and Subin meeting for the first time in 2023

On 26 August 2022, Omyo and his friend trundled down in a rescue van to the SPCA. There, they joined the long line of cats waiting for someone to decide that they were good enough, nice enough, or simply enough to have a home with them. For the many prospective adopters who passed Omyo by, he was just one in a room full of cats. But for Omyo and his friends, finding just one person was all that mattered.

Little Omyo was an eager, affectionate kitten, and a family soon decided that he was the one for them. Not long after, they gave him up because he was too active, when all he did was play like any healthy kitten would.

His second family adopted him without disclosing that they already had six cats at home, only realising later that they could not manage. Omyo, as the newest addition to the household, also became the first one out.

He was adopted a third time, but got sent back to the shelter again when a family member turned out to be allergic to cat fur.

Kittens and puppies tend to be popular among adopters. But a good, enduring fit requires the adopter to be ready for their high energy and natural behaviours such as vocalising, scratching, and chewing on furniture.

Before adopting a pet, no matter their age or species, it is important to ask ourselves, “Can I reasonably promise them a lifetime of care?”

Omyo could never tell us what he went through or how he felt, but his changed demeanour told us that it was a lot. He was still loving and curious, welcoming pets from his shelter guardians, leaning into their hand and sniffing with interest at their fingers. But he no longer scrambled to his feet as eagerly as before when someone came near, perhaps because he had learnt that each hello meant a goodbye was imminent.

Shelter life is difficult, even for the most easygoing cats. They are thrust into a place with dozens of other cats and unfamiliar human faces. The lights flicker differently, strange smells abound, and there are bursts of noise, sometimes from dogs barking in another part of the shelter. Disembodied footsteps could mean that someone unknown is approaching, or it could mean nothing at all. For cats who used to have the run of the house, being in an enclosure can feel like the four walls have closed in on them. The barred doors are opened a few times a day for food, water, pets, and some play, but firmly shut all too soon.

Some cats become guarded and wary in a shelter environment, their nervous systems going into overdrive, while others appear to be less troubled by transitions.

Omyo seemed to be in between, although we knew that such a conclusion was only an educated inference at best. One thing we were sure of – the sooner we found his forever person, the sooner his recovery could start.

Because animals do not talk, it is easy to underestimate their capacity to feel.

But when we recognise that they do speak to us, just in a different (body) language that we must learn to read, we begin to appreciate how much comfort or suffering our actions can bring to them.

On 29 October 2023, Omyo was adopted for the fourth and final time. His mummy, Subin, was saddened when she heard his story. She promised to give Omyo a warm, comfortable, forever home. We sent them on their way, with fingers tightly crossed.

More than two years later, on 15 January 2026, an unexpected email made its way to us: