Aug 24, 2023

Check out BT in his tiny aviator costume! That’s what this sweet guy wore to celebrate sitting shotgun next to the pilot, on his rescue flight from Texas to Massachusetts.

BT could easily have not made this journey. He is diabetic, and has a disease called feline leukemia (FeLV)—a virus that affects a cat’s immune system.,. In many shelters, cats with FeLV are euthanized as a matter of course. This is largely based on the unfounded belief that people won’t want to adopt cats with the illness because it affects the animal’s life span.

But APA! has proven this is not the case. wWe’ve shown that not only can cats with FeLV live long, healthy lives, but many adopters even seek these cats out. them out, but because so many FeLV cats are euthanized in shelters, it can be hard to find one who is available.

That’s what happened with BT, whose adopters were in Massachusetts. sThey loved him from the moment they saw his photo, and so we caught him a transport flight to his new home, on a plane that was otherwise full of dogs.

APA!’s Transport Program means thousands of adoptable pets facing euthanasia in crowded Texas shelters are able to reach in communities where they are welcomed into new homes. Transport can also mean aviator suits on kitties who don’t normally get to live, in the current sheltering system. But when they do, when they do, they are so special, so wanted, and so loved, that people will move mountains—and airplanes—to get them to home.

Source: Austin Pets Alive