Violet came to the Effingham County Animal Shelter in Illinois on Monday, and it was evident right away that the stray cat had a home. “She’s very, very lovely and loves to be rubbed on the head,” Violet’s rescuer, Michaela Muzzy, posted on Facebook.
But her sweetness wasn’t the only thing that hinted at the cat’s past – she had a pink collar with a message attached.
Every inch of the paper was covered with purple marker scribbling.“Bye Violet,” it said (adjusted for spelling). I think that name chose you. I wish I could keep you. Bye Violet, I hope you get a good owner. To owner: Please take good care of her. By the way, I named her. Thank you! Love, Lacey.”
The heartfelt message crushed people’s hearts all across the shelter. Not only was a nice cat looking for a home, but so was a toddler. “When we peeled it off and read it, it really rips at your emotions,” Vanessa Skavlem, a shelter animal control officer, told The Dodo. “I just imagine a youngster falling in love with this cat and knowing they won’t be able to keep it.”
The screening for a microchip at the shelter came up negative. They released a photo of Violet and the letter on social media since they couldn’t reach Violet’s prior owners.
There, the child’s plea for her cherished pet to find a nice home touched members of the local community, including Cindy Murray.
Murray’s eyes welled up with emotions when she first saw the message on Facebook: “You could tell it was written by a youngster,” Murray told The Dodo. “You could see she loved this cat, but she couldn’t keep her any longer and wants her to go to a nice home.”
Murray took the day off from work and decided to pay a visit to the shelter to meet Violet.
“I took a screenshot of the post and texted it to my husband at work, saying, ‘I want to go get this kitty.’” “I adore it — talk me out of it,” she says. Murray stated. “‘You know I can’t do that,’ he remarked. ‘Go grab it if you want it.’”
Murray saw the small Siamese cat was anxious in the shelter and decided to take her home that day. Violet began to relax once she was back in a caring environment: “She’s been purring and she appears really content,” Murray said.
Murray simply hopes she could reach out to the little girl who adored her pet and assure her that everything would be fine: “I considered making a video to this girl in which I said, ‘Dear Lacey, I adopted your lovely Violet.’” She’ll enjoy a beautiful life full of sweets, snuggles, and all we can give her.”
