(PetSmart.com)
This is Bernie. My husband Lorin met him at PetSmart in Paramus, NJ last night when he was harness shopping for our cat Sylvester (below).
Bernie is a large, gentle five-year-old who was surrendered by his owners. Lorin thinks he saw his prior owners at the store, and said that Bernie looked very sad. He didn’t know why they were giving him up.
Lorin spoke to the adoption ladies at PetSmart, and they said they were hoping to either find foster parents for him or a forever home. They said they wanted to find someone who would be willing to put him on a diet–he weighs about 40 pounds.
After Lorin told me about Bernie, I had to search for him online. As he bears the same first name as my favorite presidential candidate, I needed to see him in the fur. No information was available in his profile. It merely said “Bernie’s Story” with nothing beneath the photos.
Lorin and I discussed the possibility of fostering him and putting him on a diet until we could find him a forever home. He suggested we go to PetSmart on Saturday to see him. I said that would be fine.
We already have four cats, so taking on a fifth would be a bit much (even for us), but I would like to help him.
Why would anyone abandon a healthy, sweet five-year-old cat? Perhaps they are broke, their house is in foreclosure or they are leaving town. Nevertheless, it seems cruel. Who am I to judge? I don’t know what his prior owners are going through or what events have befallen them to arrive at this decision. All that matters is that this sweet boy finds a home with someone who will love him.
Suburban Hobo 
Sad….but yeah, one never knows the reasons folks give up their companion animals. Sadly, I had to do it when my son was born and our 6 year old cat Pepper started freaking out over the new baby in the house. She peed in his crib, and became very aggressive. I still feel sad about giving her up. (we brought her to a no-kill shelter to be adopted). Seems auspicious to adopt/foster a cat named Bernie…if I could, I’d take him, but we can’t. But all the power to you and Lorin!
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Yes, of course, you couldn’t have kept Pepper. We’ll see, maybe it will be too much for us.
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You are so nice both dear Erica, I hope a new home for Bernie to be real soon. Thank you, Love, nia
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Thanks, Nia. xo
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Having multiple cats with just one on a diet is a constant battle preventing the dieting cat from getting into the wrong food. A cat so overweight will probably have other problems as well. Petsmart offers no guarantees and you cannot return him if he is ill. You sign a contract. I got Scooby from them and spent $4000 (thousands) on vet bills and medicines since October. If I did not have deep pockets and wasn’t crazy poor Scooby would be dead. I would NEVER get another pet from there. Just adding my $4000 worth of advice.
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Greg, thank you for the advice. We adopted Sylvester from PetSmart (who got him from a foster home/agency). It’s highly likely we will not take him, but I still might want to meet him.
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40 lbs? That’s a big kitty. He looks so sweet. I hope you update tomorrow on what you decide to do after you meet him. It doesnt HAVE to be a battle keeping one specific cat on a diet. Just don’t let your cats free feed! Easy.
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Yes, he is a jumbo. My mom’s now deceased cat got very heavy for a while, then she got cancer and became emaciated, poor thing. I will write a follow up about the big boy.
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I just want to squeeze him. We had Cosmo who had the same markings and weighed as much or more. Sadly, Cossie developed some problems and died. I so loved Cossie even though he could be cantankerous. He would crawl up on my chest and lick my nose one time to let me know he loved me. Wish I could take Bernie.
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Aw, Cosmo is a great name too.
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Poor cat 😦
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Marc, we brought him home yesterday – going to see how he does with our other cats. He’s been hiding under the bed in the guest room. Will write a follow up piece soon.
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I’ll look out for the post! 🙂
And we will keep our fingers and paws crossed that he’ll get on.
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Thanks, Marc.
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