Sweet Tom came to CAWS in November 2012. It took 13 months (with five different foster homes and a long stay at our adoption room inside PetSmart) for Tom to be adopted. We truly thought Tom had found his perfect family. But 4 years later, the family’s living arrangements changed; the owner’s daughter moved in with two young cats. The daughter contacted CAWS mid-2018 because the cats weren’t getting along. We offered many suggestions as to how to integrate the cats, and even paid to update Tom’s vaccinations for the owner. In early 2019, the daughter again contacted CAWS and said that Tom was a “nuisance” and wanted him gone. Tom had become a very big (and now extremely fat) sedentary cat. Evidently, Tom’s owner had stumbled over him and for that single reason, he was labeled a “nuisance” and was being returned. Of course, CAWS welcomed Tom back, even though we had no “open” foster homes. We had no choice, but to place him back in the PetSmart cat adoption area. Tom was clearly depressed, keeping his head down and not making eye contact. One of our foster moms couldn’t stand to leave him in a cage with a broken heart, so she made room for him in her home. Once in foster care, we noticed Tom’s back and tail were bothering him, so when he went in for a dental, we got that checked as well. Fast forward a month and Tom is a new cat! He is finishing up his pain meds, which has allowed his back to mend. Tom is now on special food to dissolve a bladder stone (identified by an x-ray). Further, our boy has lost weight, now makes eye contact, holds his head up, and has begun to play with his catnip carrot! If not for CAWS, Tom would have been dumped at a shelter where he may have been deemed “not adoptable” because of his demeanor, and possibly euthanized. His future is now bright and we are doing everything possible to find him his last forever home!