Cat of the Month: September 2016

We hope you’re loving our Cat of the Month program as much as we are. The way it works: Each staff member provides a nomination for the distinguished honor, and then we vote. The highest vote wins! Any kitty patients who visit us during the prior month are eligible. Our September 2016 winner sounds like he hails from Barcelona or Madrid, but his story is quite different.

Matador

In May 2002, Jon Sequeira was exploring the desert of Baja California. A strange little creature came out from behind a cactus. “His mouth was completely agape, and he was squawking,” explains Amanda Snellinger, Matador’s owner and Jon’s wife. “His eyes had just opened, and he was so young that Jon didn’t recognize at first that he was a kitten.”

After Jon gave the kitten some water, the furry friend perked right up. “Jon threw Matador in his backback and brought him home.” Amanda says, adding that the couple suspects the kitten was part of an unwanted litter that was dumped.

Now 14 years old, Matador came into Rainier Veterinary Hospital because of a sarcoma tumor discovered in his back right leg. “Dr. Cassidy suspected it was the fault of bonding agents in vaccines,” Amanda explains. “Since the tumor was locally aggressive, amputating his leg has allowed him to be cancer-free.”

Despite losing his leg, Matador is still his same active, regal, and social cat, loving his pots of fresh catnip and bits of nori. Answering to the names Matadoodle, Pugnacious Puffy Pants, and Fuzzy, Matador also has been described as fierce. In fact, Matador originally gained his name because of his “fierce” behavior as a youth. Amanda says, “The way he attacked feet resembled the way a matador taunts a bull.”

You can wave a red cape at us any time, Matador! We love you!