The last few years have been somewhat of an adventure for old Bumper the cat, but it appears as though he’s found a nice pad to retire to.
Life was fairly normal for most of his life and Bumper enjoyed activities like car rides and camping trips with his human Bob.
Some time about four years ago, though, things got a little rough.
“Bob and his wife had a home down on (the flats) and about four years ago it burnt down; after it burnt down they couldn’t find the cat at first, but they kept going back and calling for him and finally they found him,” said Maddy Capostinksy, owner of Maddy’s Paws and Claws Rescue, who’d eventually play an important role in Bumper’s life.
“But they’d moved into Evergreen Acres where they can’t have pets so Bob kept going down there to feed him and had the neighbour check on him and make sure he’s okay.”
Eventually, Bob found a friend in Blackpool who owned a ranch that would be a perfect place for a cat to live and was willing to let Bumper move in, but it seemed Bumper had other ideas.
Shortly after his arrival in Blackpool Bumper ran off, preferring life on his own, and nobody had seen him for a while until he was spotted at a local trailer park. Now that he’d resurfaced, people tried to keep tabs on him.
“He was being watched by a few people; everybody would touch base and say, oh I saw an orange cat today, or, oh I haven’t seen him in a few days,” said Capostinsky.
Bumper would spend the next four years on the lamb like this until recently when someone heard about Capostinsky and her pet services and had contacted her to capture old Bumper.
Capostinksy said it took a few days and a live-trap to bring the elusive cat in, but in the end she succeeded and learned Bumper was about 14 years old and going blind.
“I had Bob here yesterday just to confirm it was Bumper and it was an amazing little meet and greet,” she said, adding a lady from Kamloops offered to give Bumper a home and Bob approved of the arrangement.
“We spent quite a little while with him hanging out and he said that he’s really happy Bumper can find a good retirement home.
“He’d much rather see that than have him out in the elements—he’s going blind, so he wouldn’t have lasted another winter here—he might have been eaten by a predator, been hit on the road, or even froze to death due to not being able to see what he’s doing or where he’s going.”
Bob told Capostinsky that Bumper got his name because of his tendency to bump his head into a person’s face while being petted, and after receiving such a bump—one that resulted in a bloody nose—she thought the name was rather apt.
“Now he’s going to be an inside cat and he’s going to be lounging on a bed, couch and whatever else he wants for the remainder of his life,” she said.
“It was just all around a sad story, but it has a really nice outcome.”
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