Adam the cat not yet ready for adoption

The cat recuperating from severe burns received during the summer will need another month of healing before he can be adopted and brought into a permanent home.

"He now has fur growing on his skin grafts on his back, which is excellent. Pretty soon, he won't need his little sweaters," said Jennifer Kirchner, executive director of Forgotten Felines.

The black cat, named Adam by caregivers and now 21 weeks old, was brought to the Animal Hospital of Cotati in late June after he was found on the banks of Paulin Creek in Santa Rosa with third-degree burns over 45 percent of his body.

The cat had been intentionally set on fire in a cage and two juvenile suspects face charges in the case.

The latest medical review brought Kirchner, veterinary surgeon Lisa Alexander of Animal Care Center and Adam's nurse, Tina Wright of Animal Hospital of Cotati, together for a nose-to-toe examination of the cat after the removal of a few sutures.

The group had hoped to clear Adam for adoption. They determined further surgeries will not be needed. But a continuing healing of his rectal area and other elimination issues will delay any decision on adoption for at least a month.

"These issues will be resolved with a little care. He just needs a little bit more time," Kirchner said.

Alexander said that the journey from her first examination, when Adam was a small kitten and severely burned, to the final chapter in his medical care was remarkable mainly due to the patient's demeanor.

"Even on the first day, he was so trusting. Not very many people who suffered what he suffered could be that trusting. Clearly, he never gave up and clearly, even as a feral, he accepted our help," she said.

The case required several surgeries and multiple skin grafts.

"Being able to manage a patient like this and give him back his quality of life. . . . That's why I became a veterinarian," Alexander said.

The cat captured the attention and brought concern from people far beyond Sonoma County's borders. Alexander said the case has renewed her faith in people, many of whom mailed in donations for his care, an amount that grew to more than $40,000.

You can reach Staff Writer Rayne Wolfe at 521-5240 or rayne.wolfe@pressdemocrat.com.