Rutherford Varro

Rutherford came to a rescue as a stray at age 2. His foster caregiver fell utterly in love with him, and after he was diagnosed with a heart defect, she adopted him and pledged to care for him. He was given 6 – 18 months to live, but he was a fighter, and had 27.5 months with his Mama before we lost him in July 2023 .

Fordy was the sweetest, friendliest cat ever, although he was very picky about toys and food. He loved everyone, and had a neighborhood fan club, who visited him as he basked in his crate in the back yard with his mom. He was so easy going that he wasn’t even hard to medicate multiple times a day. His Cardiology team agreed that he had the best grumpy face, although he didn’t deploy it often. His calm personality and very rare heart defect made him quite popular with students when he had Cardiology checkups; they estimate that Rutherford taught about 150 vet students! He loved snuggles, gazing into people’s eyes, and watching bunnies and squirrels. He taught everyone around him what it means to live every day fully, even when you know something awful is coming.

There will never be another cat like my Fordy, and I don’t know if I’ll ever love anything as much as I loved him. We were meant to be. I’ll love you forever, baby.