The Purr-fect Ending

The purr-fect ending: Former cheerleader rescues terminally-ill cat and creates a varied and unique bucket list for him so he can truly enjoy his final few months of life

By Valerie Siebert
DAILYMAIL.COM

A former cheerleader who rescued an elderly cat from a shelter has created a bucket list for him to help him enjoy his final months.

Adriene Buisch, 31, a marketing coordinator at Charm City Veterinary Hospital and former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader met 21-year-old Tigger after learning about him on a community Facebook page.

The senior, ginger cat had been abandoned at a Baltimore shelter where he was unlikely to be adopted due to his age.

If Adriene hadn’t found him, it’s likely he would have been put to sleep.

But lucky for Tigger, the 31-year-old was utterly charmed by him and took him home to live with herself, her boyfriend and their other six-year-old cat Stuart.

‘We looked at each other and we were like, “We’re taking that cat,”‘ she told the Baltimore Sun. ‘When we brought him home that night it was like he never forgot what it was like to have pillows and blankets.’

But the old boy had matted fur, and was very thin for his size and, despite them putting him on a diet to gain weight, was guzzling around a gallon of water per day. So, Adriene took him to the vet to have him checked out.

Sadly, she was informed that poor Tigger was deathly ill. His kidneys were failing and they subsequently discovered that he had a tumor the size of a golf ball.

The vet asked if, knowing all this information, that Ariene wanted to keep him. Her answer was an emphatic yes.

‘Though he is in kidney failure and we found a tumor, he kicks it like a 12-year-old. So we created a bucket list for our old man Tigger,’ she said.

On Thanksgiving weekend the little family took a trip to Bethany Beach in Delaware, which has been his favorite trip yet.

‘[He] literally sunbathed in the sand and walks along the water all afternoon,’ said Adriene. ‘Needless to say he made a lot of friends as people stopped to pet him and hear his story.’

Upcoming plans for the aging feline include a trip to Florida to visit family over the Christmas holidays.

More photos here.