Cat ‘lost it all’ when surrendered to shelter after 16 years. ‘She’s shutting down’
A cat who was used to the warmth and comfort of a loving home is now struggling after her life was flipped upside down when she was surrendered to an Indiana shelter.
“16-years-old and heartbroken,” the Humane Society for Hamilton County in Fishers said in a March 25 Facebook post.
“Kaylee has spent her whole life in a home. She had her routine, her favorite napping spots, her people… and then suddenly, at 16 years old, she lost it all. She was surrendered to us along with three other cats. They’ve all been adopted or placed in foster care. Kaylee? She’s still here and so is her 13 year old brother Merlin but he is also very depressed and battling a URI, so Kaylee is alone, and she’s shutting down.”
The shelter posted photos of the distressed cat, often hiding in a corner and facing the kennel wall, afraid to peer at the new world around her.
“This gentle senior girl is so overwhelmed by the stress of the shelter that she’s started overgrooming, leaving her legs bald,” the shelter said. “She spends her days curled behind her litter box, pressing her head to the wall as if trying to disappear. Kaylee cannot stay in a kennel. Her health, both emotional and physical, is declining.”
The shelter also posted a video of Kaylee with her orange-and-black spotted head pressed against the wall, not interacting with anything.
“What she needs isn’t much, just a quiet home, a soft bed, and a kind person who understands that senior cats like Kaylee have so much love left to give,” the shelter said. “We’re urgently searching for a foster or adopter to step in and give her peace.”
For more information on Kaylee, visit the shelter’s website.
Fishers is about a 20-mile drive northeast of downtown Indianapolis.
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 8:37 AM with the headline "Cat ‘lost it all’ when surrendered to shelter after 16 years. ‘She’s shutting down’."