After being abandoned in an apartment, sweet and friendly Atlas is looking for a long-term caregiver

The intake call was not an unusual one. A building manager needed help with a cat abandoned in an apartment. The manager stated that her next call would be to Animal Control to have the cat removed from the premises.

Fortunately, there happened to be “room at the inn,” and an Animal Advocates volunteer responded. Although shaking with confusion and fear, Atlas – with a gleaming black and white coat and bright eyes – was clearly social and with some time to adjust would be readily adoptable. Or so we thought.

Atlas’ initial vet exam revealed a heart murmur and cardiac malformations.

Further testing by a veterinary cardiologist diagnosed Atlas with Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF), a congenital condition involving four cardiac malformations so rare in cats that Atlas was only the second ToF patient the vet cardiologist had ever treated.

Unfortunately, it is not correctable through surgery, but it can be managed to a degree by medication. Tests determined that while Atlas’ condition has not yet progressed to heart failure, his long-term prognosis is unclear.

While Atlas’ journey with Animal Advocates is not what was initially expected, the rescue is committed to finding him a home, for however long he has.